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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 120 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: board · content · bulb · bank · rest · cap · hand · spell

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bank — for money
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. rest — what's left
  5. hand — help
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. spell — magic
  8. content — the amount
  9. cap — a lid
  10. spell — letters
  11. board — a committee
  12. bank — of a river
  13. bulb — for light
  14. rest — a break
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. rest — what's left
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. board — to get on
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bank — for money

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