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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. current — happening now
  5. bulb — for light
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cell — in biology
  9. current — of water
  10. current — electric
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bulb — for light
  16. land — ground
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. cell — a phone
  21. land — to come down
  22. bass — the fish
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. land — a country

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