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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: fall · mate · content · row · club · tear · last · bulb

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  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. club — for golf
  3. bulb — for light
  4. tear — from crying
  5. row — to paddle
  6. club — a group
  7. last — to go on
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a partner
  12. content — happy
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fall — to drop
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. club — for dancing
  17. fall — the season
  18. bulb — for light
  19. mate — a friend
  20. fall — to drop
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. row — a line
  23. content — the amount
  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