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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.

Make a worksheet

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
468
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: rash · straw · prune · court · ground · game · saw · wind

  1. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. court — of law
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. ground — a position
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. saw — the tool
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. rash — a series
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wind — moving air
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. ground — the earth
  19. court — of a king
  20. ground — crushed
  21. wind — moving air
  22. court — for sport
  23. game — a match
  24. rash — hasty

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