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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. kid — to tease
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. present — a gift
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. kid — child
  11. ball — a dance
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. present — the time now
  14. ball — a great time
  15. bulb — for light
  16. present — there
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fan — to cool the air

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