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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bulb — for light
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. cell — in biology
  6. staff — employees
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. bark — to shout
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cap — a hat
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cell — a phone
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bulb — of a plant

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