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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: present · shower · tear · lash · object · fan · spring · bulb

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. present — there
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. bulb — for light
  12. shower — to wash
  13. tear — to rip
  14. present — a gift
  15. object — an aim
  16. tear — from crying
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. present — the time now
  19. object — a thing
  20. bulb — for light
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. object — to protest
  23. spring — of water
  24. shower — rain

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