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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: lash · drill · tube · straw · prune · sharp · squash · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. sharp — clever
  4. squash — to crush
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. cell — in biology
  8. prune — to trim
  9. drill — the tool
  10. prune — to trim
  11. tube — the underground
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. drill — a practice
  15. tube — a container
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. squash — the sport
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. drill — army training
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. squash — the vegetable

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