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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: straw · board · hand · root · prune · field · mark · lie

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. prune — to trim
  4. board — to get on
  5. hand — in cards
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. hand — help
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. lie — to recline
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. field — farmland
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. root — of a plant
  16. field — for sport
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — a subject
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — the cause
  22. board — a committee
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. mark — to pay attention

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