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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: safe · straw · saw · stem · court · wind · wake · prune

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. court — of law
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. saw — the tool
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. court — of a king
  8. prune — to trim
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. prune — to trim
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. court — for sport
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wake — a trail
  19. stem — to come from
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. wind — moving air
  24. prune — the fruit

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