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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. row — a line
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bulb — for light
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. object — to protest
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. content — the amount
  15. object — a thing
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. row — to paddle
  21. object — an aim
  22. content — happy
  23. game — a match
  24. cabinet — ministers

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