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

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. lean — to bend
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. cue — for pool
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. prune — to trim
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. cue — a hint
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. file — a tool
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. lean — thin
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cue — a signal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. pound — a weight
  24. branch — a division

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