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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: object · wind · prune · bat · rush · toast · bark · lash

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. bat — the animal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. object — an aim
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. object — a thing
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bark — to shout
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. object — to protest
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. toast — bread
  23. wind — moving air
  24. prune — the fruit

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