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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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468
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 · bulb · stock · pound · season · racket · hand · wind

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. bulb — for light
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pound — a weight
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. hand — help
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wind — moving air
  12. season — in sport
  13. stock — goods
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — moving air
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. season — of the year
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. stock — shares
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. pound — for dogs

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