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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. content — happy
  5. bulb — for light
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. land — to come down
  10. pitch — completely
  11. tear — from crying
  12. land — ground
  13. bulb — for light
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. tear — to rip
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. content — the amount
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. tear — from crying
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. land — a country
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. leaves — of a tree

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