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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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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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pop — soda
  3. scale — in music
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. pop — to visit
  6. spring — the season
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. spring — of water
  13. bulb — for light
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bark — to shout
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. bulb — for light
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. staff — employees
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pop — music

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