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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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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: chest · key · fall · bulb · court · last · tear · stick

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bulb — for light
  4. court — for sport
  5. fall — to drop
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. court — of law
  8. chest — a box
  9. key — the most important part
  10. chest — of your body
  11. last — to go on
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. key — for a lock
  14. court — of a king
  15. key — in music
  16. bulb — for light
  17. fall — the season
  18. last — finally
  19. chest — of your body
  20. last — final
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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