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

Word bank: present · prune · lash · race · bat · hide · mine · tear

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. hide — animal skin
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. race — the arms race
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bat — the animal
  10. present — there
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. tear — to rip
  13. present — the time now
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. race — humankind
  16. prune — to trim
  17. race — a contest
  18. mine — for digging
  19. present — a gift
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. tear — from crying
  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