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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. dip — to sink
  3. drill — the tool
  4. land — a country
  5. tear — from crying
  6. land — ground
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. present — a gift
  11. drill — army training
  12. present — the time now
  13. land — to come down
  14. bulb — for light
  15. spring — the season
  16. tear — to rip
  17. present — there
  18. cold — not warm
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spring — of water
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bulb — for light

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