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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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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 · straw · root · lash · lean · fork · cue · scale

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. prune — to trim
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. cue — a hint
  8. lean — to bend
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cue — a signal
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. scale — size or range
  13. root — of a word
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. scale — in music
  16. lean — thin
  17. cue — for pool
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. fork — in a road
  20. root — the cause
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. prune — to trim
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. root — of a plant

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