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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bulb — for light
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. root — of a plant
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bass — low music
  9. root — the cause
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. root — of a word
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. tear — to rip
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bass — the fish
  16. hand — in cards
  17. clip — a video
  18. bulb — for light
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. hide — to keep secret

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