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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: snap · straw · fall · temple · lash · wake · bound · spell

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fall — to drop
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wake — a trail
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. spell — letters
  9. snap — to click
  10. bound — certain
  11. fall — to drop
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. bound — tied together
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. bound — obliged

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