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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: prune · deal · spring · chest · lash · sharp · kick · arm

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. spring — of water
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. spring — a coil
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. chest — a box
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. deal — to handle
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. prune — to trim
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. sharp — clever
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. prune — to trim
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. kick — in football
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. deal — a big deal

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