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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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Word bank
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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: ground · bulb · jam · content · game · scale · prune · chest

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. chest — a box
  4. bulb — for light
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. content — the amount
  7. bulb — for light
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. prune — to trim
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. content — happy
  12. scale — in music
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. game — a match
  15. game — wild animals
  16. scale — size or range
  17. chest — of your body
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. prune — to trim
  20. ground — the earth
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. ground — a position
  23. chest — of your body
  24. ground — crushed

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