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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: prune · lash · kick · fall · hand · band · chip · trunk

  1. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. hand — help
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. band — a music group
  5. prune — to trim
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. band — a ring
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. kick — in football
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chip — for betting
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. prune — to trim
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. chip — to eat
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. fall — to drop
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. hand — in cards

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