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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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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: snap · bulb · file · date · content · rock · cold · land

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. file — a document
  4. bulb — for light
  5. land — ground
  6. file — a tool
  7. content — happy
  8. rock — a stone
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — the amount
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. land — to come down
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. rock — music
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bulb — for light
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. snap — to click
  22. cold — not warm
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cold — an illness

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