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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bulb — for light
  6. clip — for paper
  7. craft — boats
  8. bark — to shout
  9. root — of a plant
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. tear — to rip
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. clip — a video
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. root — of a word
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. rush — hurry
  20. bulb — for light
  21. root — the cause
  22. clip — to cut
  23. tear — from crying
  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