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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: scale · bowl · can · cold · net · saw · content · field

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. saw — the tool
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. content — the amount
  6. can — a tin
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. scale — size or range
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. field — a subject
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. scale — in music
  14. net — after costs
  15. cold — an illness
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. field — farmland
  18. can — to be able to
  19. content — happy
  20. net — for catching
  21. net — in sport
  22. field — for sport
  23. cold — not warm
  24. saw — the tool

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com