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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: drill · prune · bat · stem · trunk · straw · staff · season

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. stem — to come from
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bat — the animal
  8. drill — the tool
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. drill — a practice
  13. prune — to trim
  14. staff — a stick
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. staff — employees
  21. season — in sport
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. staff — employees
  24. drill — army training

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