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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: wind · face · field · tear · jam · branch · bear · bulb

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bulb — for light
  4. branch — a division
  5. wind — moving air
  6. field — farmland
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bulb — for light
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bear — the animal
  12. field — a subject
  13. tear — from crying
  14. field — for sport
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. face — part of the head
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. tear — from crying
  20. face — to confront
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. bear — the animal
  23. tear — to rip
  24. face — to point toward

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