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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: wind · straw · pitcher · prune · toast · rush · foot · rest

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. rush — hurry
  6. toast — bread
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. prune — to trim
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. wind — moving air
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. prune — to trim
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. foot — a measure
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wind — moving air
  23. rest — what's left
  24. wind — to turn a key

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