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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: trunk · squash · chair · prune · swing · straw · spring · bear

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. squash — the sport
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. spring — the season
  9. swing — in golf
  10. squash — to crush
  11. bear — the animal
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. chair — a leader
  15. spring — a coil
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. spring — of water
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. swing — music
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. prune — to trim
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bear — the animal

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