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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: content · mine · calf · snap · fan · bulb · pitcher · ball

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. ball — a dance
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. content — the amount
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. ball — a great time
  18. content — happy
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. bulb — for light
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. mine — for digging

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