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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: club · chip · ground · staff · straw · prune · tear · sharp

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. staff — employees
  4. ground — crushed
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. tear — to rip
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. ground — the earth
  10. chip — for betting
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. prune — to trim
  13. sharp — clever
  14. club — a group
  15. tear — from crying
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. prune — to trim
  18. staff — a stick
  19. club — for dancing
  20. chip — to eat
  21. ground — a position
  22. club — for golf
  23. tear — from crying
  24. staff — employees

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