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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. stem — to come from
  6. rule — government
  7. object — a thing
  8. content — happy
  9. hand — help
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. rest — a break
  12. rule — a law
  13. hand — in cards
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. object — an aim
  21. content — the amount
  22. court — of law
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. rest — what's left

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