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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: fan · row · tube · foot · snap · bulb · saw · spring

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. spring — a coil
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. snap — to click
  9. bulb — for light
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. tube — the underground
  16. row — a line
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. row — to paddle
  19. bulb — for light
  20. spring — the season
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. spring — of water
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — in a tire

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