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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: face · wound · prune · board · mouse · chest · land · straw

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. prune — to trim
  4. face — part of the head
  5. board — to get on
  6. face — to point toward
  7. board — a committee
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. land — a country
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chest — of your body
  15. face — to confront
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. chest — a box
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. chest — of your body

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