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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. bulb — for light
  5. mate — a friend
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bulb — for light
  9. court — of law
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. content — the amount
  12. field — farmland
  13. mate — a partner
  14. field — a subject
  15. mate — to breed
  16. court — of a king
  17. field — for sport
  18. snap — to click
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. content — happy
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. court — for sport

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