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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: tear · bound · land · fall · face · hand · bulb · roll

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. tear — from crying
  3. bound — tied together
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bound — certain
  7. face — to point toward
  8. bulb — for light
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — a cake
  11. hand — in cards
  12. fall — the season
  13. land — a country
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. land — to come down
  16. tear — to rip
  17. face — part of the head
  18. land — ground
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. face — to confront
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. bulb — for light
  24. hand — help

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