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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: bat · can · march · saw · content · plane · net · mine

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. content — the amount
  3. can — a tin
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. net — after costs
  7. march — the month
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. net — for catching
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. can — a tin
  13. saw — the tool
  14. march — the month
  15. mine — for digging
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bat — the animal
  18. content — happy
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. net — in sport
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. can — to be able to
  24. plane — a tool

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