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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: bound · plane · lash · prune · lie · wound · trunk · cold

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. lie — to recline
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bound — certain
  6. bound — tied together
  7. bound — obliged
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. prune — to trim
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. cold — not warm
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. plane — a tool
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. lash — an eyelash

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