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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 124 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bass — low music
  3. bulb — for light
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. net — after costs
  9. tear — from crying
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. chest — a box
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. net — for catching
  16. chest — of your body
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — a series
  20. net — in sport
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bulb — for light
  24. chest — of your body

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