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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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. land — ground
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. land — a country
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. capital — money
  10. row — to paddle
  11. content — the amount
  12. prune — to trim
  13. capital — a city
  14. prune — to trim
  15. content — happy
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bulb — for light
  21. row — a line
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. land — to come down

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