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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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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: stick · can · drill · hand · chair · bay · trunk · prune

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. prune — to trim
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. hand — help
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — the tool
  7. hand — in cards
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. chair — a leader
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. prune — to trim
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. prune — the fruit

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