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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: fall · shower · branch · clip · can · lash · prune · patient

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. shower — to wash
  3. branch — a division
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. shower — rain
  7. can — to be able to
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. prune — to trim
  11. clip — a video
  12. fall — to drop
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. can — a tin
  16. fall — the season
  17. prune — to trim
  18. can — a tin
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fall — to drop
  24. clip — for paper

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