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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. content — the amount
  4. fall — the season
  5. craft — boats
  6. wound — an injury
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. fall — to drop
  9. content — happy
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cap — of ice
  16. chest — a box
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. craft — a skill

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