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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. prune — to trim
  3. ground — crushed
  4. bulb — for light
  5. ground — a position
  6. bulb — for light
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. face — to point toward
  10. content — happy
  11. cap — a lid
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. cap — of ice
  18. face — to confront
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. game — a match
  21. ground — the earth
  22. content — the amount
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cap — a hat

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