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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: prune · hide · toast · straw · spell · game · root · chair

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. prune — to trim
  6. chair — a leader
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. root — of a word
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. spell — magic
  15. prune — to trim
  16. game — a match
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. root — of a plant
  20. toast — bread
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. root — the cause
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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