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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. ball — a great time
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. hand — in cards
  5. face — part of the head
  6. prune — to trim
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. prune — to trim
  10. swing — music
  11. wind — moving air
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. swing — in golf
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. face — to point toward
  16. hand — help
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. ball — a dance
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. face — to confront
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. swing — to play on

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