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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 116 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: wave · prune · hand · straw · leaves · fan · game · bear

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. prune — to trim
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. prune — to trim
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. game — wild animals
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bear — the animal
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. game — a match
  19. bear — the animal
  20. hand — help
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. hand — in cards

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