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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. lean — to bend
  4. bulb — for light
  5. content — happy
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. land — ground
  9. lean — thin
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — a country
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. root — of a word
  14. content — the amount
  15. bulb — for light
  16. root — the cause
  17. swing — in golf
  18. prune — to trim
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. root — of a plant
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. swing — to play on
  23. prune — to trim
  24. swing — music

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