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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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Word bank
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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 · cold · chip · dip · bulb · season · file · perch

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. season — of the year
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. tear — from crying
  6. dip — to sink
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. file — a document
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bulb — for light
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. chip — to eat
  17. file — a line of people
  18. chip — for betting
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. perch — the fish
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cold — an illness
  23. season — in sport
  24. file — a tool

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