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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 116 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. scale — size or range
  3. pop — music
  4. root — of a word
  5. court — of law
  6. root — the cause
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. root — of a plant
  9. cold — not warm
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pop — to visit
  13. court — for sport
  14. content — happy
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. court — of a king
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bulb — for light
  21. pop — soda
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. content — the amount
  24. cold — the Cold War

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