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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: spring · bass · file · charge · straw · last · object · lean

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. last — final
  3. last — to go on
  4. file — a tool
  5. charge — a price
  6. file — a line of people
  7. charge — electricity
  8. object — a thing
  9. object — an aim
  10. file — a document
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. last — finally
  13. bass — the fish
  14. spring — of water
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. lean — to bend
  17. spring — a coil
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. bass — low music
  20. charge — in control
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. lean — thin
  23. object — to protest
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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