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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. branch — a division
  3. roll — a cake
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. tear — to rip
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. mine — for digging
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. bulb — for light
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bulb — for light
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. game — a match
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. roll — a list
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. mine — an explosive

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