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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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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: content · pound · staff · wound · mate · mug · bulb · capital

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  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. bulb — for light
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. staff — employees
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bulb — for light
  6. capital — a city
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. content — happy
  10. capital — money
  11. mate — a partner
  12. mug — to rob
  13. mug — a face
  14. content — the amount
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. mate — a friend
  17. mug — a cup
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. staff — employees
  20. wound — an injury
  21. staff — a stick
  22. mate — to breed
  23. capital — a big letter
  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