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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: track · tear · object · wound · wind · bulb · roll · last

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. last — to go on
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. last — final
  6. tear — from crying
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tear — to rip
  9. roll — a list
  10. wind — moving air
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a song
  13. object — to protest
  14. track — a path
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. object — an aim
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. roll — a cake
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. last — finally
  22. wound — an injury
  23. object — a thing
  24. tear — from crying

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