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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 · face · content · kid · hand · mug · drill · season

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. mug — to rob
  3. kid — to tease
  4. content — the amount
  5. net — for catching
  6. hand — help
  7. mug — a face
  8. kid — child
  9. net — in sport
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — part of the head
  12. net — after costs
  13. face — to confront
  14. content — happy
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. drill — army training
  18. season — in sport
  19. season — of the year
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mug — a cup
  22. hand — in cards
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. season — to add flavour

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