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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. kid — to tease
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cap — a lid
  6. tear — from crying
  7. last — finally
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. rash — a series
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bulb — for light
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. last — final
  15. current — of water
  16. cap — a hat
  17. last — to go on
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. kid — child
  21. current — happening now
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. current — electric
  24. cap — of ice

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