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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: row · mark · mouse · cabinet · content · net · wound · march

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. net — for catching
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. march — the month
  7. content — happy
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. net — in sport
  10. content — the amount
  11. row — a line
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. march — the month
  15. mark — a grade
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. net — after costs
  22. march — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. mark — a trace

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