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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: nail · face · ground · band · wound · cue · straw · prune

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. face — part of the head
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. wound — an injury
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. prune — to trim
  10. ground — the earth
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. wound — an injury
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. cue — a hint
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cue — a signal
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. band — a ring
  22. prune — to trim
  23. band — a music group
  24. straw — dry grass

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