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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: fork · game · season · prune · straw · deal · rash · stand

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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. deal — to handle
  4. rash — hasty
  5. season — in sport
  6. game — a match
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. stand — to bear
  10. prune — to trim
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. season — of the year
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. rash — a series
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. game — wild animals
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. fork — in a road

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