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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. snap — to click
  4. lean — to bend
  5. tube — a container
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wound — an injury
  10. lean — thin
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. tear — from crying
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. saw — the tool
  16. tube — the underground
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bulb — for light
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wound — an injury
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bulb — for light
  23. saw — the tool
  24. tear — from crying

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