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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: kid · tear · prune · pound · lean · arm · scale · straw

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. prune — to trim
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. tear — to rip
  11. lean — thin
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. lean — to bend
  14. kid — to tease
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. scale — in music
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. scale — size or range
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. kid — child
  23. pound — a weight
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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