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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: prune · swing · straw · staff · rush · face · shower · spring

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. rush — hurry
  3. swing — to play on
  4. spring — a coil
  5. face — to point toward
  6. staff — a stick
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. shower — rain
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. staff — employees
  14. spring — of water
  15. swing — music
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. face — to confront
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. swing — in golf
  22. spring — the season
  23. shower — to wash
  24. staff — employees

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