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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cold — an illness
  4. club — for golf
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pass — a permit
  10. bulb — for light
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — the cause
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — a group
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pass — to spend time

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