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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. court — of law
  8. bulb — for light
  9. court — of a king
  10. march — the month
  11. squash — to crush
  12. lean — thin
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. tear — from crying
  15. branch — a division
  16. tear — from crying
  17. court — for sport
  18. bulb — for light
  19. lean — to bend
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. bat — the animal
  23. squash — the sport
  24. branch — of a tree

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