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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. tear — to rip
  4. court — for sport
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. content — happy
  7. bulb — for light
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. field — for sport
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. field — a subject
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. content — the amount
  20. court — of a king
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. branch — a division
  23. field — farmland
  24. court — of law

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