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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. chair — a leader
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. spring — a coil
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — for light
  8. tear — from crying
  9. fall — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. fall — to drop
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. roll — a list
  18. roll — a cake
  19. branch — a division
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. tear — to rip
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. chair — a professorship

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