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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: last · pitcher · cell · lash · hide · pound · prune · mark

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. pound — a weight
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. last — to go on
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. prune — to trim
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. mark — a grade
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. mark — a trace
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in biology

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