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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: bulb · row · clip · lean · bark · temple · fan · prune

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. row — a line
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bark — to shout
  7. lean — to bend
  8. prune — to trim
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. prune — to trim
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bulb — for light
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. row — to paddle
  19. clip — for paper
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. bulb — for light
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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