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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 120 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: mark · content · foot · scale · craft · fall · net · cold

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. net — after costs
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. foot — a measure
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — happy
  11. cold — an illness
  12. mark — a grade
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. mark — a trace
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. cold — not warm
  19. craft — a skill
  20. fall — to drop
  21. scale — size or range
  22. scale — in music
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. craft — boats

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