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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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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: deal · straw · spell · prune · lash · last · wake · chest

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. prune — to trim
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. spell — a short time
  8. deal — to handle
  9. wake — a trail
  10. last — finally
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. last — to go on
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spell — letters
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — a box
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. prune — to trim
  23. last — final
  24. spell — magic

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