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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · prune · mark · court · lie · tear · land

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. mine — for digging
  4. court — for sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a trace
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. court — of a king
  10. bulb — for light
  11. land — a country
  12. mark — a grade
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. court — of law
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. land — ground
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bulb — for light
  23. prune — to trim
  24. land — to come down

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