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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. content — happy
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. swing — in golf
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. swing — to play on
  10. band — a music group
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. deal — to handle
  13. band — a ring
  14. staff — a stick
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. swing — music
  18. staff — employees
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. staff — employees
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. bulb — for light

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