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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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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 · mine · shower · bear · cap · stick · fork · prune

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bear — the animal
  10. shower — to wash
  11. prune — to trim
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. shower — rain
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. cap — a lid
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. fork — a garden tool

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