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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 116 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: trunk · lash · fall · net · press · kick · prune · cell

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. fall — to drop
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. prune — to trim
  6. press — to push
  7. cell — in biology
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. cell — a phone
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. press — newspapers
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. press — a publisher
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. kick — in football
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. net — after costs
  22. fall — to drop
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. fall — the season

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