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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: spring · stem · leaves · race · straw · snap · bay · band

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. spring — the season
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. race — humankind
  8. race — a contest
  9. snap — to click
  10. band — a ring
  11. spring — of water
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. race — the arms race
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. band — a music group
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. stem — of a plant

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