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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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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: straw · fan · mine · tube · bulb · spring · ball · cabinet

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. tube — the underground
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. ball — a great time
  12. mine — for digging
  13. spring — of water
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. spring — the season
  16. tube — a container
  17. ball — a dance
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. spring — a coil

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