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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 120 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bulb — for light
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. court — for sport
  6. wind — moving air
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. last — final
  9. wind — moving air
  10. court — of a king
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. pit — a hole
  13. prune — to trim
  14. scale — size or range
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. prune — to trim
  17. pit — in a race
  18. last — finally
  19. court — of law
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. scale — in music
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. bulb — for light
  24. last — to go on

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