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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 120 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 · lie · kid · mark · bulb · chip · wound · spring

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. bulb — for light
  7. mark — a trace
  8. spring — a coil
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. tear — from crying
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mark — a grade
  17. tear — to rip
  18. chip — for betting
  19. spring — of water
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. bulb — for light
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chip — to eat
  24. lie — to recline

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