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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: wave · cell · firm · cold · racket · tear · bulb · lash

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cell — in biology
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. firm — steady
  7. firm — a company
  8. tear — from crying
  9. firm — decided
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. tear — from crying
  15. cold — an illness
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. cold — not warm
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. tear — to rip
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. wave — of the sea

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