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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. tear — to rip
  3. game — wild animals
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. current — electric
  6. content — happy
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wound — an injury
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. current — happening now
  12. board — a committee
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bulb — for light
  17. board — to get on
  18. game — a match
  19. content — the amount
  20. squash — the sport
  21. tear — from crying
  22. squash — to crush
  23. current — of water
  24. tear — from crying

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