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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: roll · net · content · hand · spring · spell · season · date

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. spell — magic
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. spring — a coil
  8. spell — a short time
  9. season — in sport
  10. spell — letters
  11. content — the amount
  12. net — in sport
  13. roll — a cake
  14. spring — of water
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. season — of the year
  17. hand — help
  18. content — happy
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. spring — the season
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — after costs
  23. roll — a list
  24. hand — in cards

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