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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. current — electric
  4. content — happy
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. content — the amount
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — of water
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. mark — a trace
  18. march — the month
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. bulb — for light
  22. spring — the season
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mark — a grade

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