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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: spell · lash · straw · vault · spring · wake · perch · cold

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spell — a short time
  3. wake — a trail
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — in gymnastics
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. perch — the fish
  14. spell — magic
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spell — letters
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. spring — of water
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. vault — a safe

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