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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. fine — all right
  3. content — happy
  4. bulb — for light
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. wind — moving air
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. craft — boats
  10. content — the amount
  11. hand — in cards
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. fine — high quality
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hand — help
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. plane — an aircraft

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