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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: bear · nail · bulb · cold · rule · shower · tear · kick

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. cold — not warm
  3. shower — rain
  4. rule — a law
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kick — in football
  9. bulb — for light
  10. tear — to rip
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rule — government
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — from crying
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — to wash
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. nail — for a hammer

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