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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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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 · can · face · mark · wind · prune

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. prune — to trim
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. wind — moving air
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. can — a tin
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mark — a trace
  15. can — a tin
  16. face — part of the head
  17. can — to be able to
  18. straw — dry grass

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