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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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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. spring — the season
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. key — for a lock
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. roll — a list
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. key — in music
  11. key — the most important part
  12. stem — to come from
  13. spring — of water
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. spring — a coil
  17. roll — a cake
  18. perch — the fish

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