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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. fall — the season
  5. cell — in biology
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. craft — boats
  10. craft — a skill
  11. content — happy
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pound — a weight
  14. game — a match
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. fall — to drop

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