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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. rule — government
  5. bulb — for light
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bulb — for light
  8. pound — a weight
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. wake — a trail
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rule — a law
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. game — a match

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