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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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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: field · chair · prune · bulb · mate · wake · lie · kid

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. kid — child
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. bulb — for light
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mate — a partner
  12. chair — a leader
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. kid — to tease
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. field — farmland
  18. lie — to recline
  19. wake — a trail
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. field — a subject
  22. mate — a friend
  23. bulb — for light
  24. field — for sport

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