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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: object · spring · stock · saw · straw · season · fall · clip

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. saw — past of 'see'
  2. spring — the season
  3. season — in sport
  4. object — to protest
  5. object — an aim
  6. stock — shares
  7. spring — a coil
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. clip — a video
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — goods
  13. saw — the tool
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. spring — of water
  16. season — of the year
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. clip — for paper
  19. saw — the tool
  20. object — a thing
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. fall — the season
  23. clip — to cut
  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