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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. ground — crushed
  4. tear — from crying
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — a short time
  10. ground — a position
  11. bulb — for light
  12. stand — to bear
  13. plane — a tool
  14. spell — magic
  15. chip — to eat
  16. bulb — for light
  17. ground — the earth
  18. mine — for digging
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. chip — for betting
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. tear — to rip

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