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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bear — the animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. bulb — for light
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. chair — a leader
  16. fork — in a road
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bear — the animal
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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