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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: prune · trunk · stick · kid · last · band · cap · racket

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. prune — to trim
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. band — a music group
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. last — final
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cap — a lid
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. last — finally
  14. cap — a hat
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. cap — of ice
  19. last — to go on
  20. prune — to trim
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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