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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: ball · wind · squash · straw · dip · stem · perch · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. ball — a great time
  3. perch — the fish
  4. last — final
  5. stem — to come from
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. dip — to sink
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wind — moving air
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. last — to go on
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. squash — to crush
  24. ball — a dance

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