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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. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bulb — for light
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. capital — a city
  6. land — a country
  7. spring — the season
  8. suit — to fit
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bark — to shout
  11. tear — to rip
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. spring — of water
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. lean — thin
  16. spring — a coil
  17. suit — in cards
  18. land — to come down
  19. tear — from crying
  20. capital — money
  21. lean — to bend
  22. bulb — for light
  23. land — ground
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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