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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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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 · current · hand · deal · prune · row · leaves · lash

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. deal — to handle
  10. row — a line
  11. land — a country
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. row — to paddle
  14. prune — to trim
  15. current — of water
  16. land — ground
  17. hand — in cards
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. current — happening now
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. land — to come down
  24. current — electric

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