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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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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 · bay · wake · ground · cap · spring · chest · stand

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cap — a lid
  3. spring — a coil
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cap — a hat
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. ground — a position
  14. chest — a box
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. spring — of water
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. ground — the earth
  21. stand — to bear
  22. cap — of ice
  23. ground — crushed
  24. spring — the season

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