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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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bulb — for light
  3. clip — to cut
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. spring — the season
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bulb — for light
  10. clip — a video
  11. tear — from crying
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. spring — of water
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. deal — to handle
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. spring — a coil
  24. clip — for paper

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