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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. bark — to shout
  9. pass — a permit
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. land — a country
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. land — to come down
  16. spring — of water
  17. land — ground
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bulb — for light
  21. spring — the season
  22. wind — moving air
  23. tear — to rip
  24. spring — a coil

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