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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 120 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: bound · rest · tear · race · pitcher · field · wind · bulb

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. bound — obliged
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. race — humankind
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rest — what's left
  9. field — farmland
  10. race — the arms race
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rest — a break
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. race — a contest
  15. tear — to rip
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. field — a subject
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. field — for sport
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bulb — for light
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bound — certain

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