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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. cold — not warm
  5. capital — money
  6. net — after costs
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. cold — an illness
  9. net — for catching
  10. net — in sport
  11. capital — a city
  12. object — an aim
  13. content — happy
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. mate — a partner
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bulb — for light
  18. object — to protest
  19. bulb — for light
  20. object — a thing
  21. mate — a friend
  22. pound — a weight
  23. mate — to breed
  24. pound — to hit hard

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