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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 116 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: spring · cap · straw · wound · face · rush · prune · net

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. prune — to trim
  4. face — to confront
  5. spring — the season
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wound — an injury
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. spring — of water
  14. cap — a hat
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a lid
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. face — to point toward
  20. spring — a coil
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. rush — hurry

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