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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 116 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 light ________________ burned out.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. tear — from crying
  4. season — of the year
  5. fall — to drop
  6. deal — to handle
  7. rash — a series
  8. season — in sport
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. row — a line
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tear — from crying
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bulb — for light
  21. row — to paddle
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. tear — to rip
  24. fall — the season

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