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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. land — a country
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. field — farmland
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. prune — to trim
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. bound — obliged
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. bound — tied together
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. bound — certain
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. field — for sport
  24. mine — for digging

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