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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. field — a subject
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wake — a trail
  11. fall — to drop
  12. staff — a stick
  13. fall — the season
  14. tear — from crying
  15. staff — employees
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. staff — employees
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. rash — hasty
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tear — from crying
  24. trunk — of a car

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