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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. track — a song
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. row — a line
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. chip — to eat
  10. content — happy
  11. content — the amount
  12. track — a path
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. rash — a series
  15. chip — for betting
  16. row — to paddle
  17. perch — the fish
  18. rash — hasty
  19. mine — for digging
  20. bulb — for light
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. track — to keep track
  24. perch — for a bird

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