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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cold — an illness
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. chair — a leader
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. content — happy
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. stem — to come from
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. content — the amount
  14. fine — all right
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. fine — high quality
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — wild animals
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. bulb — for light
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. game — a match

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