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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: perch · tear · bound · spring · tube · bulb · stick · swing

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tube — the underground
  3. swing — music
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tube — a container
  7. spring — of water
  8. bound — tied together
  9. bulb — for light
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bulb — for light
  14. spring — a coil
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bound — certain
  17. spring — the season
  18. perch — the fish
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. swing — in golf
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. tube — in a tire

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