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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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Word bank
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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  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 — for light
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wake — a trail
  8. chair — a leader
  9. tube — a container
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. tube — the underground
  13. present — a gift
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. tear — from crying
  18. present — there
  19. bulb — for light
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. present — the time now
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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