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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: spring · bear · rush · vault · foot · wind · straw · mouse

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. spring — the season
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. foot — a measure
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. vault — a safe
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. spring — a coil
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wind — moving air
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. rush — hurry
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. straw — dry grass

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