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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: toast · prune · straw · patient · ground · face · perch · stick

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. prune — to trim
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. perch — the fish
  6. ground — a position
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. face — part of the head
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. face — to point toward
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. toast — bread
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. face — to confront
  17. prune — to trim
  18. ground — crushed
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. ground — the earth
  24. toast — the most admired

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