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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
468
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: field · snap · content · present · bass · net · face · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bass — low music
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. content — the amount
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. present — the time now
  10. game — a match
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to confront
  13. field — farmland
  14. field — for sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. bass — the fish
  17. content — happy
  18. face — to point toward
  19. field — a subject
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. snap — to click
  22. game — wild animals
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. content — videos and posts

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