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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 ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. content — the amount
  7. wound — an injury
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. content — happy
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bulb — for light
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bulb — for light
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pitch — completely
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. wound — an injury
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. fall — the season

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