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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. content — happy
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wind — moving air
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. capital — money
  11. wind — moving air
  12. hand — in cards
  13. field — a subject
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. content — the amount
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. field — for sport
  21. hand — help
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bulb — for light
  24. field — farmland

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