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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. content — the amount
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. court — for sport
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. saw — the tool
  14. court — of a king
  15. bulb — for light
  16. court — of law
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cell — a phone
  20. content — happy
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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