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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 124 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 · squash · kick · firm · vault · cold · lash · ground

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — decided
  3. squash — the sport
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. cold — an illness
  6. prune — to trim
  7. firm — a company
  8. ground — a position
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. kick — in football
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. squash — to crush
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ground — the earth
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. vault — a safe
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. prune — to trim
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. ground — crushed

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