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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: chair · prune · ground · bulb · kick · lie · toast · straw

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. bulb — for light
  3. ground — crushed
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. bulb — for light
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. toast — bread
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. ground — the earth
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. ground — a position
  18. chair — a leader
  19. lie — to recline
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. kick — in football
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. prune — the fruit

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