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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: stick · prune · band · mate · bulb · cold · fan · root

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. band — a music group
  3. prune — to trim
  4. root — the cause
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. root — of a word
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. bulb — for light
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. root — of a plant
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. band — a ring
  21. mate — a friend
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bulb — of a plant

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