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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.

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: net · root · content · field · perch · mine · cabinet · spell

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. net — after costs
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. spell — magic
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. net — for catching
  10. spell — letters
  11. field — for sport
  12. spell — a short time
  13. root — the cause
  14. field — farmland
  15. content — happy
  16. net — in sport
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. field — a subject
  19. root — of a plant
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. perch — the fish
  23. root — of a word
  24. perch — for a bird

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