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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. firm — steady
  8. content — the amount
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. can — a tin
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. firm — decided
  13. cold — not warm
  14. firm — a company
  15. capital — a city
  16. content — happy
  17. can — to be able to
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. capital — money
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. degree — an amount
  24. can — a tin

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