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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: date · tear · straw · bulb · game · squash · foot · rock

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. squash — the sport
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. rock — music
  6. tear — from crying
  7. date — the fruit
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. rock — a stone
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. foot — a measure
  16. tear — to rip
  17. game — a match
  18. bulb — for light
  19. game — wild animals
  20. squash — to crush
  21. bulb — for light
  22. tear — from crying
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. rock — to move gently

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