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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: pass · bay · bound · fan · content · field · net · bat

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bat — the animal
  5. pass — a permit
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. net — for catching
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bound — obliged
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. net — after costs
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. field — a subject
  17. content — the amount
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. content — happy
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. net — in sport
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. bat — in an idiom

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