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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 · sharp · spring · lash · tube · roll · pound · wake

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. roll — a cake
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. pound — a weight
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. tube — the underground
  10. roll — a list
  11. spring — a coil
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. spring — the season
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. tube — a container
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. wake — a trail
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. spring — of water
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. sharp — with an edge

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