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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: lash · field · bound · press · ground · straw · rash · prune

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. ground — a position
  5. press — newspapers
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rash — a series
  9. ground — crushed
  10. field — for sport
  11. press — to push
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. prune — to trim
  14. press — a publisher
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. rash — hasty
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — a subject
  19. bound — obliged
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. ground — the earth
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bound — tied together

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