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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bass — the fish
  4. court — of law
  5. bulb — for light
  6. root — of a word
  7. bulb — for light
  8. root — the cause
  9. court — for sport
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. suit — to fit
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. tear — from crying
  14. suit — in cards
  15. court — of a king
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. suit — clothes
  18. bass — low music
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. wound — an injury
  23. root — of a plant
  24. tear — to rip

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