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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. lean — thin
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — certain
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. lean — to bend
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. club — a group
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wake — a trail
  18. club — for dancing
  19. bound — tied together
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. club — for golf

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