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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 116 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: bulb · lean · tear · prune · plane · bark · snap · mine

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. mine — for digging
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. tear — from crying
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. plane — a tool
  8. bulb — for light
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bark — to shout
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. lean — thin
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. tear — from crying
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. tear — to rip
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — to bend
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. mine — belonging to me

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