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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: mate · ground · straw · nail · spell · board · tear · prune

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. mate — a friend
  3. board — a committee
  4. tear — from crying
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. ground — crushed
  7. spell — letters
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mate — a partner
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. tear — from crying
  12. prune — to trim
  13. mate — to breed
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. board — to get on
  18. spell — magic
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. spell — a short time
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. tear — to rip
  23. ground — a position
  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