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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. chest — of your body
  9. content — happy
  10. current — electric
  11. current — happening now
  12. ground — a position
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. ground — the earth
  16. chest — a box
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. fork — in a road
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. chest — of your body
  21. current — of water
  22. prune — to trim
  23. ground — crushed
  24. fork — to eat with

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