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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. press — newspapers
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. plane — a tool
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. current — electric
  9. capital — money
  10. press — a publisher
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. press — to push
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cold — an illness
  16. capital — a city
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bulb — for light
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. wax — to grow

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