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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chest — of your body
  5. race — the arms race
  6. hand — in cards
  7. chest — of your body
  8. firm — decided
  9. firm — steady
  10. band — a music group
  11. hand — help
  12. spring — a coil
  13. firm — a company
  14. chest — a box
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bulb — for light
  18. band — a ring
  19. bulb — for light
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. tear — to rip
  23. race — humankind
  24. race — a contest

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