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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — a country
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. game — wild animals
  6. clip — to cut
  7. land — to come down
  8. can — to be able to
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bear — the animal
  12. clip — a video
  13. staff — employees
  14. clip — for paper
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. can — a tin
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. can — a tin
  19. bear — the animal
  20. content — happy
  21. staff — a stick
  22. bulb — for light
  23. land — ground
  24. staff — employees

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