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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 120 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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — for light
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — in a road
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. spring — the season
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. march — the month
  13. present — a gift
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. march — music
  16. present — there
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. lie — to recline
  21. march — the month
  22. present — the time now
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — for digging

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