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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: staff · racket · kid · lash · present · hand · prune · court

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — the time now
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. present — there
  7. hand — in cards
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. kid — child
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. hand — help
  13. staff — employees
  14. kid — to tease
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. staff — a stick
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. prune — to trim
  20. staff — employees
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. court — of law
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. racket — a loud noise

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