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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. row — to paddle
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. scale — in music
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. fall — to drop
  7. row — a line
  8. scale — size or range
  9. spring — the season
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. fall — the season
  13. fall — to drop
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. spell — a short time
  16. snap — to click
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. spell — letters
  19. spell — magic
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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