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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: kid · cold · bear · lash · lean · prune · cabinet · kick

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bear — the animal
  4. kid — child
  5. cold — an illness
  6. lean — to bend
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. kick — in football
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. lean — thin
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. prune — to trim
  21. bear — the animal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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