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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. content — happy
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pass — a permit
  6. fall — to drop
  7. band — a music group
  8. land — ground
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bulb — for light
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. lean — thin
  14. land — a country
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. fall — the season
  17. bulb — for light
  18. land — to come down
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. band — a ring
  21. content — the amount
  22. pitch — completely
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bulb — of a plant

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