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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. bulb — for light
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. swing — in golf
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bulb — for light
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. tube — a container
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. prune — to trim
  19. swing — music
  20. tube — the underground
  21. saw — the tool
  22. tear — to rip
  23. swing — to play on
  24. tear — from crying

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