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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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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: bay · prune · bear · trunk · wind · chair · net · bulb

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. prune — to trim
  3. wind — moving air
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bear — the animal
  6. net — for catching
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. bear — the animal
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. wind — moving air
  13. prune — to trim
  14. net — in sport
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. bulb — for light
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. net — after costs

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