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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 · can · lash · chair · spring · stock · net · cap

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. chair — a leader
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. can — a tin
  5. spring — of water
  6. cap — a lid
  7. can — a tin
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. cap — of ice
  11. spring — the season
  12. stock — goods
  13. net — after costs
  14. spring — a coil
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. stock — shares
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. cap — a hat
  23. prune — to trim
  24. can — to be able to

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