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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: wound · rush · fall · straw · date · object · prune · pitcher

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. prune — to trim
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. fall — to drop
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. object — a thing
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. fall — to drop
  12. date — the fruit
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. object — an aim
  15. fall — the season
  16. rush — hurry
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. object — to protest
  19. wound — an injury
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitcher — a jug

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