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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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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 · race · rock · perch · rule · nail · content · cell

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — a law
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. content — happy
  7. rock — music
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. perch — the fish
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rule — government
  17. bulb — for light
  18. content — the amount
  19. rock — a stone
  20. cell — in biology
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. perch — for a bird

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