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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: straw · sharp · chest · wind · root · prune · arm · hand

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wind — moving air
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. wind — moving air
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. sharp — clever
  10. root — of a word
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. root — the cause
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. prune — to trim
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. root — of a plant
  18. hand — in cards
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. chest — a box
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. prune — to trim

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