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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 120 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 · bowl · spring · bound · wound · wake · spell · sharp

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. spell — letters
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — a short time
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. sharp — clever
  15. spring — of water
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bound — certain
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. bound — obliged

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