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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.

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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. tear — to rip
  3. chest — a box
  4. bulb — for light
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chest — of your body
  7. tear — from crying
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. charge — electricity
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. charge — a price
  20. prune — to trim
  21. tear — from crying
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. charge — in control

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