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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: lean · lash · stem · prune · wound · content · hand · bat

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. hand — in cards
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. prune — to trim
  10. stem — to come from
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. hand — help
  15. lean — thin
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. content — the amount
  22. wound — an injury
  23. prune — to trim
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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