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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: foot · staff · ground · straw · bear · prune · net · land

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. land — a country
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bear — the animal
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ground — the earth
  8. staff — employees
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. land — ground
  11. bear — the animal
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. land — to come down
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. staff — employees
  22. net — in sport
  23. staff — a stick
  24. foot — a measure

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