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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 116 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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. hand — in cards
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. key — the most important part
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. prune — to trim
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. wind — moving air
  18. snap — to click
  19. key — for a lock
  20. hand — help
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. key — in music
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. wind — moving air

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