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

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bank — for money
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bank — for money
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. prune — to trim
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. bank — of a river
  13. wake — a trail
  14. face — to confront
  15. prune — to trim
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. face — to point toward
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. clip — a video
  21. face — part of the head
  22. clip — for paper
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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