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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 · bulb · hand · foot · face · straw · prune · date

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. foot — a measure
  5. bulb — for light
  6. face — part of the head
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. hand — in cards
  10. prune — to trim
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. prune — to trim
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. face — to confront
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. date — the fruit
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. face — to point toward
  24. date — on the calendar

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