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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · bulb · tear · foot · prune · wound · root · bat

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. prune — to trim
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bulb — for light
  11. tear — from crying
  12. root — the cause
  13. wound — an injury
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. root — of a plant
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. root — of a word
  21. prune — to trim
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — the bottom

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