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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stem · fan · hide · spell · bound · mouse · wind · straw

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spell — letters
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bound — certain
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. stem — to come from
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. spell — magic

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