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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 124 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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bound — tied together
  4. capital — a city
  5. row — a line
  6. tear — from crying
  7. row — to paddle
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. chip — to eat
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. drill — army training
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. tear — from crying
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bulb — for light
  17. drill — the tool
  18. capital — money
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. bound — obliged
  21. bound — certain
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. drill — a practice
  24. chip — for betting

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