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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 116 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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. field — farmland
  5. bear — the animal
  6. field — a subject
  7. tear — to rip
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bear — the animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. field — for sport
  16. prune — to trim
  17. spell — letters
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. spell — magic

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