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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: band · prune · wind · bark · bulb · bat · wake · lie

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. prune — to trim
  3. band — a music group
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wind — moving air
  19. lie — to recline
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. bulb — for light
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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