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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. pound — a weight
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. file — a document
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. content — the amount
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bulb — for light
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mine — for digging
  22. content — happy
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. file — a tool

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