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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: bat · snap · bear · chair · tear · bulb · race · spell

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bulb — for light
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. race — humankind
  10. bear — the animal
  11. spell — a short time
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. spell — magic
  14. snap — to click
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. race — the arms race
  17. tear — to rip
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. tear — from crying
  21. spell — letters
  22. tear — from crying
  23. race — a contest
  24. bear — to put up with

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