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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. wake — a trail
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. spring — the season
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wind — moving air
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spring — of water
  10. saw — the tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. saw — the tool
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. nail — for a hammer

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