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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: dip · mate · field · perch · straw · foot · prune · spring

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. mate — a friend
  7. field — a subject
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. field — for sport
  10. mate — to breed
  11. perch — the fish
  12. spring — a coil
  13. field — farmland
  14. spring — of water
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. foot — a measure
  17. prune — to trim
  18. dip — to sink
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. spring — the season

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