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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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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: wound · dip · cell · rush · spring · straw

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. spring — the season
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. dip — to sink
  8. rush — hurry
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. wound — an injury
  11. spring — a coil
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. cell — a phone
  15. spring — of water
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wound — an injury

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