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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. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. kick — in football
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. row — to paddle
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. cold — not warm
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. prune — to trim
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. bowl — to roll

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