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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: kid · fork · content · degree · cabinet · coach · lie · net

  1. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. net — in sport
  4. degree — temperature
  5. content — happy
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. net — after costs
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. fork — in a road
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. kid — child
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. net — for catching
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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