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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: cold · prune · bark · bore · bulb · wake · mate · current

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bore — to tire
  3. mate — to breed
  4. cold — not warm
  5. current — of water
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. prune — to trim
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bulb — for light
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. mate — a partner
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. mate — a friend
  20. prune — to trim
  21. current — happening now
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. current — electric

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