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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: tear · jam · mate · spring · lean · net · straw · stick

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. lean — to bend
  5. mate — a partner
  6. lean — thin
  7. net — in sport
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. net — after costs
  15. mate — a friend
  16. net — for catching
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spring — of water
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. spring — the season
  24. mate — to breed

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