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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 · clip · straw · sharp · lash · pit · track · snap

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  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. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pit — a hole
  3. track — a song
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. track — to keep track
  7. spring — of water
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. clip — to cut
  11. spring — the season
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pit — in a race
  15. clip — for paper
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. sharp — clever
  18. snap — to click
  19. track — a path
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. clip — a video
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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