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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 116 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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. content — the amount
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. content — happy
  5. cold — an illness
  6. current — happening now
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. branch — a division
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bulb — for light
  12. current — electric
  13. current — of water
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. stand — to bear
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bulb — for light
  24. content — videos and posts

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