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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bulb — for light
  7. content — the amount
  8. hand — help
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. present — the time now
  11. fall — to drop
  12. present — a gift
  13. season — in sport
  14. fall — the season
  15. hand — in cards
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wind — moving air
  18. content — happy
  19. season — of the year
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. present — there

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