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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. rash — a series
  5. spring — of water
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bass — low music
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. spring — the season
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bark — to shout
  14. foot — a measure
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bat — the animal
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. lash — an eyelash

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