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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: lie · prune · wound · clip · hand · lash · squash · spring

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spring — a coil
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. squash — the sport
  11. lie — to recline
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. squash — to crush
  19. spring — of water
  20. prune — to trim
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. spring — the season
  23. hand — help
  24. clip — a video

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