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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.

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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: season · net · mouse · content · row · nail · march · hand

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. net — in sport
  3. hand — help
  4. march — the month
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. hand — in cards
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — in sport
  10. content — happy
  11. row — to paddle
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. content — the amount
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. row — a line
  24. hand — part of the body

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