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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 120 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: present · rest · saw · wound · prune · kid · straw · lash

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. kid — to tease
  3. rest — what's left
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wound — an injury
  6. present — a gift
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wound — an injury
  9. rest — what's left
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. saw — the tool
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. present — there
  17. kid — child
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. saw — the tool
  20. present — the time now
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rest — a break

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