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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.

Make a worksheet

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: net · mine · content · bat · object · wound · present · pass

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — the amount
  3. pass — a permit
  4. object — an aim
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. mine — for digging
  7. content — happy
  8. net — for catching
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. present — the time now
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. net — in sport
  14. wound — an injury
  15. present — there
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. object — to protest
  21. present — a gift
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. net — after costs
  24. object — a thing

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