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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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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 · lie · bulb · prune · wave · bark · race · cold

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lie — to recline
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. cold — an illness
  9. race — a contest
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. prune — to trim
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. race — humankind
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. race — the arms race

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