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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bound — tied together
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. file — a tool
  9. bulb — for light
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. file — a line of people
  12. tear — from crying
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. last — final
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bulb — for light
  18. shower — rain
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. bound — certain
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. file — a document
  24. bound — obliged

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