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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: fan · track · bulb · net · cold · content · band · drill

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. track — a path
  6. band — a music group
  7. track — to keep track
  8. content — the amount
  9. drill — army training
  10. content — happy
  11. net — for catching
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. bulb — for light
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. band — a ring
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cold — an illness
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cold — not warm
  23. track — a song
  24. content — videos and posts

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