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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · tear · content · bulb · chest · rule

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. 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. chest — of your body
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. tear — to rip
  5. chest — of your body
  6. content — happy
  7. chest — a box
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. tear — from crying
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. rule — a law
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rule — government
  17. deal — to handle
  18. 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