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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. land — a country
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bulb — for light
  5. season — in sport
  6. prune — to trim
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. tear — from crying
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. tear — to rip
  15. land — ground
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. march — the month
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. land — to come down
  22. march — music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bulb — of a plant

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