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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 · swing · march · suit · ground · wound · prune · game

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. suit — in cards
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wound — an injury
  5. march — the month
  6. ground — the earth
  7. game — a match
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wound — an injury
  10. march — music
  11. prune — to trim
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. ground — a position
  14. game — wild animals
  15. suit — clothes
  16. march — the month
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. swing — music
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. suit — to fit
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  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