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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: fine · game · wake · net · club · content · march · tube

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. wake — a trail
  4. club — a group
  5. march — the month
  6. march — music
  7. content — happy
  8. fine — all right
  9. content — the amount
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. club — for golf
  15. tube — a container
  16. game — a match
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. game — wild animals
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. net — in sport
  21. march — the month
  22. club — for dancing
  23. fine — high quality
  24. tube — the underground

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