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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: wind · bore · bear · file · spring · bass · rest · straw

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. rest — a break
  3. spring — the season
  4. bore — to tire
  5. rest — what's left
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to drill
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bass — the fish
  20. spring — of water
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bass — low music
  23. file — a document
  24. straw — a straw man

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