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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: land · nail · prune · lash · rock · fall

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. rock — music
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. prune — to trim
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fall — the season
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. land — to come down
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. rock — a stone
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. land — a country

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