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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: wake · field · hand · bulb · tear · rash · vault · mug

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. hand — help
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. mug — a cup
  10. bulb — for light
  11. mug — a face
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mug — to rob
  15. field — farmland
  16. wake — a trail
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. field — a subject
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. field — for sport
  22. hand — in cards
  23. rash — a series
  24. vault — a safe

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