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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lean — to bend
  5. bulb — for light
  6. current — of water
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bulb — for light
  10. pop — music
  11. current — electric
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. lean — thin
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tear — to rip
  18. march — the month
  19. pop — soda
  20. can — to be able to
  21. march — the month
  22. current — happening now
  23. pop — to visit
  24. march — music

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