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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: tear · march · bank · fall · wind · bulb

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bank — for money
  6. bulb — for light
  7. tear — from crying
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fall — the season
  11. bank — for money
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. march — the month
  16. fall — to drop
  17. march — the month
  18. tear — to rip

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