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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: stem · content · land · cap · perch · prune · rush · bulb

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. rush — hurry
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. content — the amount
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cap — of ice
  10. land — to come down
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. stem — to come from
  13. prune — to trim
  14. land — ground
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. content — happy
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bulb — for light
  20. perch — the fish
  21. prune — to trim
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. content — videos and posts

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