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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: cell · staff · bore · cold · land · prune · arm · lash

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. land — a country
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cell — a phone
  6. land — ground
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. staff — employees
  14. cell — in biology
  15. staff — employees
  16. prune — to trim
  17. land — to come down
  18. bore — to drill
  19. prune — to trim
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bore — to tire
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. cold — an illness

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