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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: straw · land · ground · prune · arm · firm · game · tube

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. land — a country
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. firm — a company
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. firm — decided
  9. prune — to trim
  10. tube — the underground
  11. firm — steady
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. game — a match
  14. ground — the earth
  15. ground — crushed
  16. prune — to trim
  17. tube — a container
  18. ground — a position
  19. land — to come down
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. land — ground
  24. game — wild animals

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