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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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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: bat · lash · prune · present · mate · content · cell · stand

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. present — a gift
  5. prune — to trim
  6. stand — to bear
  7. mate — a friend
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. present — there
  13. cell — in biology
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. present — the time now
  17. cell — a phone
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bat — the animal
  21. content — happy
  22. mate — to breed
  23. content — the amount
  24. mate — a partner

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