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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: squash · sharp · mine · spring · wind · straw · lean · tube

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. sharp — clever
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. squash — to crush
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. spring — the season
  10. lean — thin
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. spring — a coil
  15. tube — a container
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. squash — the sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. tube — the underground
  21. lean — to bend
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lean — to rest against

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