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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: content · plane · field · wake · dip · net · bat · ball

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. net — in sport
  5. field — for sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. field — a subject
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. ball — a great time
  14. wake — a trail
  15. ball — a dance
  16. field — farmland
  17. net — after costs
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bat — the animal
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. content — happy
  22. plane — a tool
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. content — the amount

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