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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. staff — a stick
  6. staff — employees
  7. pop — music
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. staff — employees
  10. pop — to visit
  11. pop — soda
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. spring — of water
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. wind — moving air
  18. spring — the season

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