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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.

Make a worksheet

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: row · content · coach · net · race · mine · hide · bass

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — in sport
  4. mine — for digging
  5. content — happy
  6. row — a line
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. net — after costs
  12. bass — the fish
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bass — low music
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. race — humankind
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. race — the arms race
  20. row — to paddle
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. race — a contest
  24. coach — a trainer

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