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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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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: rest · chest · prune · trunk · racket · bound · straw · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — with a leg
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. rest — what's left
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bound — obliged
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bound — tied together
  14. kick — in football
  15. bound — certain
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. chest — of your body
  18. rest — a break
  19. prune — to trim
  20. rest — what's left
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. trunk — of a car

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