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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: straw · ball · spring · sharp · stand · content · roll · dip

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. content — happy
  4. sharp — clever
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. stand — to bear
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. content — the amount
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. roll — a list
  17. ball — a great time
  18. ball — a dance
  19. dip — to sink
  20. spring — a coil
  21. roll — a cake
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. sharp — exactly

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