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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 120 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: shower · land · bear · tear · bulb · saw · bound · current

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. land — to come down
  3. bound — tied together
  4. bear — the animal
  5. land — a country
  6. tear — from crying
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. tear — from crying
  9. land — ground
  10. shower — to wash
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. current — electric
  13. shower — rain
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bound — obliged
  17. current — happening now
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bound — certain
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bulb — for light
  24. current — of water

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