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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: straw · tear · nail · mine · trunk · rule · pit · prune

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. pit — a hole
  3. tear — from crying
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. tear — from crying
  8. mine — for digging
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. prune — to trim
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. pit — in a race
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rule — a law
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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