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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 · lash · hand · dip · cold · present · trunk · kid

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cold — not warm
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. dip — to sink
  10. kid — child
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. present — there
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. present — the time now
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cold — an illness
  17. kid — to tease
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. present — a gift
  20. hand — help
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — to trim

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