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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: leaves · land · tear · ground · lean · bulb · rest · hand

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. lean — to bend
  3. rest — a break
  4. bulb — for light
  5. tear — from crying
  6. ground — a position
  7. land — a country
  8. rest — what's left
  9. land — ground
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. ground — the earth
  13. tear — to rip
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. lean — thin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. ground — crushed
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. hand — help
  21. land — to come down
  22. hand — in cards
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. lean — to rest against

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