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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: bear · pitch · tear · cold · jam · cabinet · content · bulb

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bear — the animal
  9. content — happy
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. content — the amount
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. tear — to rip
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. pitch — completely
  22. bear — the animal
  23. cold — an illness
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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