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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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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: tear · land · season · object · straw · foot · mate · prune

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  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. mate — a friend
  2. land — a country
  3. prune — to trim
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. tear — to rip
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. land — to come down
  9. mate — a partner
  10. season — in sport
  11. mate — to breed
  12. object — to protest
  13. tear — from crying
  14. object — a thing
  15. prune — to trim
  16. tear — from crying
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. season — of the year
  20. object — an aim
  21. land — ground
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. foot — part of the body
  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