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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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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: wake · hide · band · vault · straw · degree · bay · spring

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. vault — a safe
  4. degree — from a university
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. spring — of water
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. degree — an amount
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. spring — a coil
  15. wake — a trail
  16. degree — temperature
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. spring — the season
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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