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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: squash · bank · straw · wound · trunk · band · row · pop

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bank — of a river
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pop — soda
  7. squash — to crush
  8. row — to paddle
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pop — music
  11. squash — the sport
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pop — to visit
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — a line
  16. band — a music group
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. band — a ring
  19. bank — for money
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bank — for money
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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