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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bear — the animal
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. tear — to rip
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bulb — for light
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. land — ground
  11. bear — the animal
  12. rock — a stone
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. rock — music
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bulb — for light
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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