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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 · snap · wound · bat · pop · stand · straw · mouse

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pop — soda
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. pop — music
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. pop — to visit
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. spring — a coil
  13. stand — to bear
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. bat — the animal
  17. snap — to click
  18. wound — an injury
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. spring — the season
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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