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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: bulb · tube · content · perch · game · snap · leaves · cold

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. snap — to click
  5. cold — not warm
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bulb — for light
  9. content — the amount
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. game — a match
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — the fish
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — an illness
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — a container
  24. content — happy

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