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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: net · content · current · scale · cold · fall · leaves · lie

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. net — in sport
  3. content — happy
  4. current — of water
  5. fall — the season
  6. current — electric
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. content — the amount
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fall — to drop
  17. scale — size or range
  18. net — for catching
  19. scale — in music
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. current — happening now
  23. cold — an illness
  24. net — after costs

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