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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 120 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: straw · spring · bore · hand · cold · bank · ball · snap

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bank — for money
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bore — to drill
  6. spring — a coil
  7. ball — a dance
  8. cold — an illness
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — not warm
  11. snap — to click
  12. spring — the season
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. hand — help
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. spring — of water
  19. bank — for money
  20. bank — of a river
  21. ball — a great time
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bore — to tire
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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