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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pound — a weight
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bat — the animal
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. prune — to trim

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