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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bulb — for light
  10. object — a thing
  11. lean — to bend
  12. prune — to trim
  13. object — an aim
  14. bulb — for light
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. prune — to trim
  19. lean — thin
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. plane — a tool
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. tear — from crying
  24. plane — in geometry

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