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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: wake · straw · game · prune · pound · rash · foot · object

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. object — an aim
  6. prune — to trim
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. game — a match
  9. rash — hasty
  10. game — wild animals
  11. object — to protest
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. wake — a trail
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. foot — a measure
  19. rash — a series
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. object — a thing
  24. game — a kind of play

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