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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. foot — a measure
  3. tear — from crying
  4. craft — a skill
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bulb — for light
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. chip — for betting
  13. shower — rain
  14. present — the time now
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. chip — to eat
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. craft — boats
  19. present — there
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. date — the fruit
  24. bulb — for light

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