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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 116 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 · shower · spring · ball · lean · mark · wake · nail

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. lean — thin
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. wake — a trail
  8. mark — a grade
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. shower — rain
  15. spring — a coil
  16. ball — a dance
  17. ball — a great time
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. mark — a trace
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spring — of water
  24. ball — a round shape

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