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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: land · safe · tear · wind · last · pitcher · bulb · coach

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. last — final
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. land — a country
  5. bulb — for light
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. last — finally
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. tear — from crying
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. land — ground
  16. last — to go on
  17. wind — moving air
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. land — to come down
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bulb — for light
  23. tear — to rip
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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