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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: game · spring · degree · craft · mouse · bear · spell · straw

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. spring — the season
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bear — the animal
  8. craft — boats
  9. degree — an amount
  10. spell — letters
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. degree — from a university
  16. spring — of water
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. degree — temperature
  19. spring — a coil
  20. game — a match
  21. spell — magic
  22. bear — the animal
  23. game — wild animals
  24. straw — a straw man

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