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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: land · squash · straw · toast · vault · snap · stem · wind

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. land — ground
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wind — moving air
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. toast — bread
  9. snap — to click
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. squash — to crush
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. squash — the sport
  15. land — to come down
  16. stem — to come from
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. land — a country
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. wind — moving air
  21. vault — a safe
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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