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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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468
Word bank
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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. prune — to trim
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. squash — to crush
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bulb — for light
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — in biology
  20. prune — to trim
  21. content — happy
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. content — the amount
  24. bulb — for light

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