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

Word bank: prune · cap · lash · wound · trunk · band · straw · drill

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. drill — army training
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. wound — an injury
  7. band — a music group
  8. cap — a hat
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. prune — to trim
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. drill — a practice
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. wound — an injury
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. prune — to trim
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. band — a ring
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. drill — the tool

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