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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. capital — a city
  9. content — happy
  10. bulb — for light
  11. season — in sport
  12. capital — money
  13. season — of the year
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. content — the amount
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — government

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