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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: bulb · tear · pit · content · stand · row · shower · dip

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. content — happy
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bulb — for light
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — a line
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. row — to paddle
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pit — in a race
  14. tear — from crying
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — to wash
  18. tear — from crying
  19. content — the amount
  20. bulb — for light
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. pit — a hole

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