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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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Word bank
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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: game · content · wave · bulb · season · cap · nail · hand

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  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. wave — of the sea
  2. bulb — for light
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a hat
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cap — a lid
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. game — wild animals
  11. content — the amount
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. season — in sport
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. content — happy
  20. game — a match
  21. bulb — for light
  22. hand — in cards
  23. content — videos and posts
  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