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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: leaves · tear · bulb · clip · trunk · bear · chip · shower

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. chip — to eat
  3. tear — to rip
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. shower — rain
  8. clip — for paper
  9. chip — for betting
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. clip — a video
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bear — the animal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bear — the animal

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