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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 116 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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bulb — for light
  3. content — happy
  4. key — the most important part
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. band — a ring
  9. bulb — for light
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. rash — a series
  17. wake — a trail
  18. key — in music
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. key — for a lock
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. rash — hasty

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