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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.

Make a worksheet

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: mine · bulb · cue · straw · kid · press · scale · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bulb — for light
  5. kid — child
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. mine — for digging
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cue — for pool
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. press — newspapers
  13. scale — size or range
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. cue — a signal
  18. kid — to tease
  19. press — to push
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. cue — a hint
  22. press — a publisher
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. scale — in music

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