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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: pop · file · spring · cell · last · lie · pitcher · straw

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cell — a phone
  6. pop — soda
  7. spring — the season
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. last — to go on
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cell — in biology
  14. file — a tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. lie — to recline
  20. pop — music
  21. last — finally
  22. pop — to visit
  23. last — final
  24. file — a document

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