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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. present — there
  3. content — the amount
  4. rule — a law
  5. swing — in golf
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. present — a gift
  8. swing — to play on
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. object — an aim
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bulb — for light
  13. lean — thin
  14. object — a thing
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. object — to protest
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. rash — hasty
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. present — the time now
  21. rash — a series
  22. swing — music
  23. rule — government
  24. lean — to bend

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