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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wind — moving air
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. chip — to eat
  7. bat — the animal
  8. can — a tin
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. rest — what's left
  11. wind — moving air
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. can — to be able to
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. can — a tin
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chip — for betting
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cold — an illness

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