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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · spell · straw · land · wound · lean

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. lean — to bend
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. spell — magic
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spell — letters
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. land — ground
  12. land — a country
  13. wound — an injury
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. land — to come down
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. spell — a short time
  18. lean — thin

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