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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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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: clip · lash · coach · prune · field · foot · tube · rash

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. field — a subject
  6. rash — hasty
  7. foot — a measure
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. field — farmland
  11. tube — the underground
  12. prune — to trim
  13. clip — for paper
  14. prune — to trim
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. rash — a series
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. clip — a video
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. clip — to cut
  24. field — for sport

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