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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 120 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: trunk · rule · wound · craft · row · band · prune · kick

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. kick — in football
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. band — a ring
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. craft — boats
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. craft — a skill
  14. wound — an injury
  15. rule — government
  16. row — to paddle
  17. rule — a law
  18. row — a line
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. kick — a thrill

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