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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: lean · patient · prune · cabinet · trunk · land · straw · chair

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. chair — a leader
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. lean — thin
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. lean — to bend
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. land — ground
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. prune — to trim
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. land — to come down
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. land — a country

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