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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 116 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: bulb · cabinet · pound · rest · wind · march · prune · content

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  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. wind — moving air
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. rest — a break
  6. content — happy
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — the amount
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pound — a weight
  12. march — the month
  13. rest — what's left
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. march — music
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. rest — what's left
  21. march — the month
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bulb — for light
  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