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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. cold — an illness
  4. branch — a division
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. content — the amount
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. tube — a container
  13. bulb — for light
  14. current — happening now
  15. content — happy
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. fork — in a road
  19. current — of water
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. tube — the underground
  24. current — electric

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