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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 120 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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cap — a lid
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. content — happy
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cell — in biology
  13. row — to paddle
  14. cold — an illness
  15. content — the amount
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cap — of ice
  24. row — a line

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