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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: ground · pop · content · bore · net · board · chest · roll

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. net — after costs
  3. roll — a cake
  4. board — a committee
  5. net — in sport
  6. pop — music
  7. ground — a position
  8. bore — to tire
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. chest — of your body
  11. net — for catching
  12. content — happy
  13. ground — the earth
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. board — to get on
  18. bore — to drill
  19. pop — to visit
  20. chest — of your body
  21. roll — a list
  22. pop — soda
  23. content — the amount
  24. chest — a box

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