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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: bulb · mine · lash · bore · march · prune

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. prune — to trim
  4. mine — for digging
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bore — to drill
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. march — the month
  18. lash — a whip stroke

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