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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: fall · field · ground · face · safe · tear · rush · bulb

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. rush — hurry
  3. safe — a strongbox
  4. tear — to rip
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. bulb — for light
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. ground — crushed
  9. face — to confront
  10. fall — to drop
  11. face — to point toward
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bulb — for light
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. fall — the season
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. field — a subject
  20. tear — from crying
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. face — part of the head
  24. bulb — of a plant

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