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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 · mark · squash · clip · content · spell · wake · straw

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. spell — a short time
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. spring — of water
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. content — happy
  9. wake — a trail
  10. spring — a coil
  11. squash — the sport
  12. content — the amount
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mark — a grade
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. spell — magic
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. squash — to crush
  21. spell — letters
  22. mark — a trace
  23. spring — the season
  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