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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: leaves · mine · net · lean · track · content · cold · temple

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cold — not warm
  3. track — a path
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. lean — to bend
  6. content — the amount
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. content — happy
  9. track — to keep track
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. track — a song
  13. net — in sport
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. mine — for digging
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. cold — an illness
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. net — for catching
  24. temple — a place of worship

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