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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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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: kid · hide · cap · lash · prune · chest · spring · stock

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. cap — a hat
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. cap — of ice
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. kid — child
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chest — of your body
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. stock — shares
  13. spring — the season
  14. stock — goods
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. spring — of water
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. cap — a lid
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. kid — to tease
  22. prune — to trim
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. spring — a coil

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