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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. kid — to tease
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. rash — a series
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — a position
  8. bulb — for light
  9. rash — hasty
  10. tube — a container
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a match
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bulb — for light
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. ground — crushed
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bass — low music
  23. tube — the underground
  24. kid — child

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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