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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: rule · wind · content · bulb · bear · craft · cold · fall

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. craft — boats
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fall — the season
  8. content — happy
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bear — the animal
  11. content — the amount
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. bear — the animal
  15. rule — government
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. rule — a law
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wind — moving air
  24. craft — a skill

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