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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 · hand · straw · rock · pop · content · branch · vault

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rock — music
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pop — soda
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. pop — music
  8. branch — a division
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. pop — to visit
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — the season
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. rock — a stone
  16. content — happy
  17. vault — a safe
  18. spring — of water
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. hand — in cards
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. content — the amount

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