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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 116 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: lash · tear · stand · tube · mine · prune · cell · snap

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. snap — to click
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. stand — to bear
  8. mine — for digging
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. tear — to rip
  11. prune — to trim
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. cell — a phone
  20. prune — to trim
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tube — a container
  24. mine — belonging to me

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