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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: band · toast · craft · prune · wave · fall · straw · cold

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. cold — an illness
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. cold — not warm
  7. prune — to trim
  8. craft — a skill
  9. band — a ring
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. band — a music group
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. toast — bread
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. fall — to drop
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. fall — the season
  22. craft — boats
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. fall — to drop

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