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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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. bulb — for light
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. rash — a series
  8. pop — music
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bear — the animal
  11. pop — soda
  12. field — a subject
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. tear — to rip
  16. field — farmland
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. rash — hasty
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. field — for sport
  22. bear — the animal
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. pop — to visit

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