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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. wind — moving air
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. clip — a video
  8. kick — in football
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wind — moving air
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. object — a thing
  15. prune — to trim
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — to protest
  19. clip — to cut
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. branch — a division
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. clip — for paper

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