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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: deal · wound · spring · net · pitcher · toast · straw · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. net — after costs
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. deal — to handle
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wound — an injury
  16. net — for catching
  17. toast — bread
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. spring — the season
  23. wound — an injury
  24. net — in sport

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