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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: wake · face · straw · bark · staff · sharp · prune · lie

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. staff — employees
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. face — to confront
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. staff — employees
  7. lie — to recline
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. face — to point toward
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. wake — a trail
  15. prune — to trim
  16. staff — a stick
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. face — part of the head
  23. sharp — clever
  24. wake — before a funeral

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