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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: straw · game · ground · wound · staff · spring · scale · rock

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. game — a match
  3. ground — the earth
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. ground — a position
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spring — the season
  8. ground — crushed
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. spring — of water
  18. wound — an injury
  19. scale — in music
  20. rock — a stone
  21. wound — an injury
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. rock — music

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