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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 120 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: hand · prune · fork · root · trunk · club · wound · mate

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. prune — to trim
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. wound — an injury
  7. hand — in cards
  8. mate — a friend
  9. root — the cause
  10. mate — a partner
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — of a word
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. club — a group
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. fork — in a road
  18. club — for golf
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. hand — help
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mate — to breed
  24. club — for dancing

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