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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. date — the fruit
  6. fall — to drop
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. fall — the season
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bulb — for light
  19. kid — child
  20. kid — to tease
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. safe — out of danger

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