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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 116 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bass — low music
  3. content — happy
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bulb — for light
  6. spring — a coil
  7. content — the amount
  8. spring — of water
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bulb — for light
  12. can — a tin
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. spring — the season
  18. bass — the fish
  19. tear — from crying
  20. can — a tin
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. cell — a phone
  23. mate — to breed
  24. can — to be able to

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