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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wound — an injury
  4. bulb — for light
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bound — obliged
  7. content — happy
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. content — the amount
  11. shower — to wash
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. chip — to eat
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. rash — a series
  17. chip — for betting
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bound — certain
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. bound — tied together

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