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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bark — to shout
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tear — from crying
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — the animal
  10. date — the fruit
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bulb — for light
  15. roll — a list
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. tear — to rip
  18. roll — a cake
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. date — on the calendar

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