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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. wake — a trail
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cell — in biology
  14. tear — to rip
  15. prune — to trim
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. bat — the animal
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. bulb — for light
  24. prune — the fruit

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