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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. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pit — in a race
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — to rob
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. mug — a face
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pit — a hole
  11. band — a music group
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. prune — to trim
  15. rest — what's left
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. branch — a division
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. rest — a break
  22. cold — an illness
  23. band — a ring
  24. rest — what's left

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