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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: prune · content · bulb · kid · calf · rule · straw · dip

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. rule — government
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bulb — for light
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bulb — for light
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. kid — child
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. rule — a law
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. content — the amount
  19. dip — to sink
  20. content — happy
  21. prune — to trim
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. prune — to trim

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