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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · spring · sharp · band · straw · chest · perch · lean

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. chest — a box
  4. spring — of water
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. perch — the fish
  7. lean — thin
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. spring — the season
  12. wound — an injury
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. chest — of your body
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a music group
  17. spring — a coil
  18. lean — to bend
  19. chest — of your body
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. band — a ring

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