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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: mark · prune · date · cold · bulb · sharp · chip · staff

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. mark — a grade
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cold — an illness
  9. date — the fruit
  10. cold — not warm
  11. sharp — clever
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. staff — employees
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. staff — employees
  17. chip — to eat
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. mark — a trace
  23. staff — a stick
  24. cold — the Cold War

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