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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 120 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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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: key · cold · prune · mark · lash · bulb · snap · mine

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bulb — for light
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. key — the most important part
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. mine — for digging
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. bulb — for light
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. key — for a lock
  21. cold — not warm
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — an illness
  24. snap — to click

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