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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 120 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: content · cell · hide · bulb · pound · prune · kick · perch

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. content — the amount
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. content — happy
  7. cell — in biology
  8. bulb — for light
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. prune — to trim
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cell — a phone
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. bulb — for light
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pound — a weight
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. kick — in football

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