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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — of water
  3. spell — a short time
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. spell — letters
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — moving air
  9. shower — rain
  10. wax — to grow
  11. craft — a skill
  12. rock — a stone
  13. craft — boats
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. rock — music
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. shower — to wash
  23. spring — the season
  24. spell — magic

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