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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: cell · clip · rush · bulb · content · patient · capital · temple

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. cell — a phone
  3. bulb — for light
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. clip — to cut
  7. clip — a video
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rush — hurry
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. clip — for paper
  15. cell — in biology
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. content — happy
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. content — the amount
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. temple — a place of worship

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