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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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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: stick · wake · hide · land · straw · prune · cue · bear

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. land — to come down
  3. cue — a hint
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wake — a trail
  6. land — ground
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a signal
  13. land — a country
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bear — the animal
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. bear — the animal
  24. prune — to trim

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