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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. ground — the earth
  6. cap — a hat
  7. spell — letters
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. tear — from crying
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. cap — of ice
  12. tear — to rip
  13. hand — help
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spell — magic
  16. bulb — for light
  17. hand — in cards
  18. spell — a short time
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. ground — crushed
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — to drill
  23. ground — a position
  24. bulb — for light

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