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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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468
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: prune · bear · hide · tear · bulb · wake · file · mine

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. file — a tool
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bulb — for light
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bulb — for light
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bear — the animal
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. tear — from crying
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. tear — from crying
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bear — the animal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — before a funeral

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