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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: rash · wake · pit · tear · prune · bulb · wave · land

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bulb — for light
  4. rash — a series
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. land — a country
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. prune — to trim
  13. land — ground
  14. bulb — for light
  15. pit — in a race
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. land — to come down
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. rash — hasty
  23. pit — a hole
  24. tear — to rip

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