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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.

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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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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: content · prune · straw · bear · chair · lean · file · trunk

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. prune — to trim
  7. content — the amount
  8. bear — the animal
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bear — the animal
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. file — a document
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. file — a line of people
  19. lean — thin
  20. chair — a leader
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. content — happy
  23. file — a tool
  24. straw — dry grass

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