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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: bulb · cell · board · shower · face · wave · cap · content

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. content — happy
  3. cap — a hat
  4. board — to get on
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. face — to point toward
  12. cap — a lid
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. face — to confront
  16. board — a committee
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bulb — for light
  22. cell — in biology
  23. shower — rain
  24. board — a flat piece

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