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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. tear — from crying
  3. net — after costs
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. net — for catching
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. sharp — clever
  11. spring — of water
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. face — to confront
  14. branch — a division
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. bulb — for light
  18. face — part of the head
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bulb — for light
  22. face — to point toward
  23. net — in sport
  24. sharp — with an edge

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