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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: wind · bulb · safe · wave · press · court · cold · content

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. bulb — for light
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. press — to push
  5. content — the amount
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. court — of a king
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bulb — for light
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. content — happy
  14. press — a publisher
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. court — of law
  19. court — for sport
  20. press — newspapers
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. content — videos and posts

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