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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: can · wake · cold · content · net · bay · stand · branch

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cold — an illness
  4. content — the amount
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. can — a tin
  8. cold — not warm
  9. can — to be able to
  10. content — happy
  11. net — for catching
  12. can — a tin
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wake — a trail
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. net — in sport
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — to bear
  24. branch — a division

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