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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. ball — a dance
  5. spring — the season
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. wound — an injury
  8. spring — a coil
  9. perch — the fish
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ball — a great time
  12. last — finally
  13. sharp — clever
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bank — of a river
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. last — to go on
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. last — final
  21. bank — for money
  22. bank — for money
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ball — a round shape

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