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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: plane · prune · fan · tear · racket · stand · lash · net

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. net — for catching
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. net — in sport
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. tear — to rip
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stand — to bear
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. prune — to trim
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. net — after costs
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. stand — for spectators

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