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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. tear — to rip
  3. cap — a hat
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. chest — of your body
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. track — a path
  8. game — a match
  9. chest — of your body
  10. track — to keep track
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. rush — hurry
  18. tear — from crying
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. track — a song
  22. bulb — for light
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. chest — a box

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