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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: bulb · clip · land · bear · fall · tear · season · prune

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. season — in sport
  3. fall — the season
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bear — the animal
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bear — the animal
  10. bulb — for light
  11. tear — from crying
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bulb — for light
  15. season — of the year
  16. fall — to drop
  17. prune — to trim
  18. land — to come down
  19. fall — to drop
  20. prune — to trim
  21. land — a country
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. land — ground
  24. bear — to put up with

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