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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bear — the animal
  4. bulb — for light
  5. content — the amount
  6. land — a country
  7. spring — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. spring — a coil
  10. land — ground
  11. fall — to drop
  12. march — the month
  13. content — happy
  14. tear — from crying
  15. march — music
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. fall — the season
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — the month
  20. land — to come down
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. spring — of water

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