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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wound · pop · content · prune · straw · bear · field · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. pop — soda
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wound — an injury
  7. content — the amount
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — a subject
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pop — music
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. staff — employees
  19. field — farmland
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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