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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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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: ruler · pitcher · prune · capital · hand · toast · cell · lash

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. toast — bread
  3. capital — money
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cell — a phone
  9. cell — in biology
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. hand — help
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. capital — a city
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. prune — to trim
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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