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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · content · rash · straw · drill · race · coach · land

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rash — a series
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bulb — for light
  5. land — to come down
  6. drill — army training
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. content — the amount
  9. rash — hasty
  10. race — the arms race
  11. bulb — for light
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. drill — the tool
  18. land — ground
  19. race — humankind
  20. land — a country
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. drill — a practice
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. race — a contest

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