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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: cabinet · cap · bulb · prune · straw · content · date · stick

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. content — the amount
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bulb — for light
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — of ice
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. content — happy
  14. prune — to trim
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bulb — for light
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. prune — to trim
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. date — the fruit
  24. straw — dry grass

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