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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. last — final
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. content — the amount
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bulb — for light
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cap — a lid
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rush — hurry
  17. cap — of ice
  18. last — to go on
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. last — finally
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cap — a hat
  24. straw — a straw man

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