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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · wave · mate · prune · chair · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. cell — a phone
  3. mate — a partner
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mate — to breed
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. mate — a friend
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim

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