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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 120 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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. content — the amount
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. content — happy
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. press — to push
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bulb — for light
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. bulb — for light
  15. press — a publisher
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — a subject
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. field — farmland
  22. press — newspapers
  23. perch — the fish
  24. content — videos and posts

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