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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a ring
  5. kid — to tease
  6. drill — a practice
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. prune — to trim
  10. drill — the tool
  11. band — a music group
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. drill — army training
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. staff — a stick
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. staff — employees
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. staff — employees
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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