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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. bulb — for light
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. bulb — for light
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. field — a subject
  12. content — happy
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. capital — a city
  15. capital — money
  16. field — for sport
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. field — farmland
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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