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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: staff · wake · snap · kid · lash · net · prune · hand

  1. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — an eyelash
  2. hand — help
  3. prune — to trim
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. kid — child
  7. net — for catching
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. wake — a trail
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. staff — a stick
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. staff — employees
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. staff — employees
  18. snap — to click
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. net — after costs
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. net — in sport
  23. kid — to tease
  24. hand — in cards

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