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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. land — ground
  4. hand — help
  5. race — humankind
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. bulb — for light
  11. race — the arms race
  12. wind — moving air
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. land — a country
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. land — to come down
  17. race — a contest
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. hand — in cards
  20. lean — to bend
  21. tear — to rip
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lean — thin

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