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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 120 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: net · deal · tear · last · present · straw · land · spring

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. land — a country
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. spring — of water
  5. net — after costs
  6. present — a gift
  7. tear — from crying
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. spring — a coil
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. net — for catching
  12. spring — the season
  13. last — to go on
  14. present — the time now
  15. deal — to handle
  16. net — in sport
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. land — ground
  19. last — final
  20. tear — to rip
  21. land — to come down
  22. last — finally
  23. tear — from crying
  24. present — there

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