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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. content — the amount
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. bulb — for light
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. chair — a leader
  7. capital — a city
  8. clip — for paper
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. content — happy
  11. bulb — for light
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. clip — to cut
  14. chip — to eat
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — a division
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chip — for betting
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. clip — a video
  22. capital — money
  23. capital — a big letter
  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