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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: lash · capital · file · bass · prune · trunk · fork · march

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. file — a line of people
  4. file — a tool
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bass — low music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. march — the month
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. march — music
  12. fork — in a road
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. capital — a city
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. march — the month
  22. capital — money
  23. bass — the fish
  24. fork — to eat with

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