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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: prune · tube · lash · last · bear · spell · court · field

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. bear — the animal
  4. last — finally
  5. prune — to trim
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. spell — a short time
  8. bear — the animal
  9. spell — magic
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. last — to go on
  14. prune — to trim
  15. court — for sport
  16. field — farmland
  17. court — of a king
  18. spell — letters
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. court — of law
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — a container
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. last — final

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