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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: club · net · roll · content · spring · mine · sharp · hide

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. net — for catching
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mine — for digging
  8. sharp — clever
  9. net — after costs
  10. content — happy
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. roll — a list
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. spring — the season
  15. roll — a cake
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. spring — a coil
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. club — for dancing
  20. spring — of water
  21. club — a group
  22. net — in sport
  23. club — for golf
  24. mine — belonging to me

Multiple-meaning words list

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

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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