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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: bass · tear · race · kick · prune · lash · pitcher · perch

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. tear — to rip
  3. bass — the fish
  4. race — humankind
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. tear — from crying
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. perch — the fish
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bass — low music
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. kick — in football
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pitcher — a jug

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