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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. row — to paddle
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stand — to bear
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. prune — to trim
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. lie — to recline
  22. prune — to trim
  23. row — a line
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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