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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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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: ball · arm · bore · lash · season · bat · prune · ground

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bore — to tire
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. ground — the earth
  7. prune — to trim
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bat — the animal
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. bore — to drill
  17. ground — a position
  18. ball — a great time
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — in sport
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. season — to add flavour

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