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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: racket · stand · race · tear · cold · lash · bulb · spring

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. tear — from crying
  9. race — humankind
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bulb — for light
  12. spring — the season
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cold — an illness
  15. race — the arms race
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. spring — of water
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. race — a contest
  24. stand — to bear

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