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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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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: lash · prune · bark · wound · ball · land · board · mine

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. wound — an injury
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. mine — for digging
  5. prune — to trim
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. land — ground
  9. ball — a great time
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. board — to get on
  13. ball — a dance
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. land — a country
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. bark — to shout
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. board — a committee
  23. prune — to trim
  24. ball — a round shape

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