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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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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 · leaves · pass · bat · prune · field · firm · hand

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. pass — a permit
  4. hand — help
  5. firm — steady
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. hand — in cards
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. bulb — for light
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. prune — to trim
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. firm — a company
  16. bulb — for light
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. field — for sport
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. firm — decided
  22. prune — to trim
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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