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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: race · prune · cell · object · lash · snap · track · saw

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. snap — to click
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — to trim
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. race — the arms race
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. object — an aim
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. saw — the tool
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. object — a thing
  13. race — a contest
  14. cell — in biology
  15. saw — the tool
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. track — a path
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. race — humankind
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. cell — a phone
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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