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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: prune · stick · straw · kick · tear · date · lash · tube

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. date — the fruit
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tube — a container
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. tear — from crying
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. kick — in football
  21. prune — to trim
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lash — to lash out

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