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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. pit — a hole
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. hand — help
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. toast — bread
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. saw — the tool
  11. content — happy
  12. saw — the tool
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pit — in a race
  18. hand — in cards

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