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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: nail · prune · roll · straw · deal · ground · wave · field

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. deal — to handle
  3. field — farmland
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — a cake
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — the earth
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. ground — a position
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. prune — to trim
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. field — for sport
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. field — a subject

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