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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bulb — for light
  4. plane — a tool
  5. ball — a great time
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. fall — to drop
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. game — wild animals
  15. content — the amount
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. ball — a dance
  18. fall — the season
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. wind — moving air
  21. fall — to drop
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. bulb — for light
  24. nail — on a finger

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