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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: race · file · wake · bulb · pound · stem · content · safe

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. pound — a weight
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. bulb — for light
  6. content — the amount
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. stem — to come from
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. race — a contest
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. race — the arms race
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wake — a trail
  19. file — a document
  20. race — humankind
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bulb — for light
  23. file — a tool
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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