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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. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. content — the amount
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. rule — government
  5. content — happy
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wind — moving air
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. rock — a stone
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. rock — music
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. rule — a law
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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