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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 116 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 · tear · branch · net · kick · firm · lash · land

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. firm — decided
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. land — ground
  8. prune — to trim
  9. net — in sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. net — after costs
  14. kick — in football
  15. firm — steady
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. net — for catching
  18. firm — a company
  19. tear — from crying
  20. branch — a division
  21. land — a country
  22. tear — to rip
  23. land — to come down
  24. branch — of a tree

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