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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: land · rash · bulb · date · temple · prune · race · wind

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. land — to come down
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. land — a country
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. race — a contest
  19. land — ground
  20. date — the fruit
  21. bulb — for light
  22. race — humankind
  23. wind — moving air
  24. temple — a place of worship

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