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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 · mug · bulb · branch · game · fall · face · race

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. mug — to rob
  3. bulb — for light
  4. tear — from crying
  5. race — a contest
  6. face — to confront
  7. branch — a division
  8. tear — from crying
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. game — a match
  11. race — humankind
  12. face — part of the head
  13. race — the arms race
  14. mug — a cup
  15. face — to point toward
  16. game — wild animals
  17. fall — to drop
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mug — a face
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fall — the season
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. fall — to drop

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