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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. content — happy
  3. spell — letters
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. game — a match
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spell — a short time
  9. current — electric
  10. plane — a tool
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. current — happening now
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bulb — for light
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. current — of water
  18. game — wild animals
  19. content — the amount
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. bulb — for light
  22. spell — magic
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. bulb — of a plant

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