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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: prune · pitcher · straw · band · squash · wound · trunk · pitch

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. squash — to crush
  3. band — a ring
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. band — a music group
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. pitch — completely
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wound — an injury
  18. squash — the sport
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. wound — an injury

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