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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: march · toast · wake · bulb · bat · present · prune · fall

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. wake — a trail
  4. present — a gift
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. present — the time now
  7. present — there
  8. fall — to drop
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bulb — for light
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. march — music
  16. march — the month
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. prune — to trim
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. prune — to trim
  21. march — the month
  22. fall — to drop
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. fall — the season

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