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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 120 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: mark · straw · prune · calf · key · face · chair · club

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. key — the most important part
  5. club — for golf
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. face — part of the head
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. chair — a leader
  11. club — a group
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. club — for dancing
  14. mark — a grade
  15. key — for a lock
  16. face — to point toward
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. prune — to trim
  19. mark — a trace
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. key — in music
  23. face — to confront
  24. calf — a young 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