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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: trunk · capital · board · racket · drill · prune · lie · cold

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. drill — the tool
  3. drill — army training
  4. lie — to recline
  5. cold — not warm
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. board — to get on
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. capital — money
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. prune — to trim
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cold — an illness
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. capital — a city
  23. drill — a practice
  24. prune — to trim

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