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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: pitcher · land · fine · net · content · current · perch · root

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. fine — high quality
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — ground
  6. current — happening now
  7. net — for catching
  8. current — electric
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. root — the cause
  12. land — a country
  13. net — in sport
  14. content — happy
  15. root — of a plant
  16. net — after costs
  17. land — to come down
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. perch — the fish
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. root — of a word
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. current — of water
  24. content — the amount

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