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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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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 · bulb · kick · content · foot · stick · file · last

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. net — after costs
  4. bulb — for light
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. content — the amount
  7. net — in sport
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. bulb — for light
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. last — to go on
  14. file — a document
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. last — finally
  17. file — a tool
  18. last — final
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. kick — in football
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. net — for catching
  24. file — a line of people

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