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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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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: mug · bulb · straw · land · cabinet · spring · roll · field

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. field — farmland
  3. mug — a cup
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. roll — a list
  6. mug — a face
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. land — a country
  10. mug — to rob
  11. land — to come down
  12. spring — of water
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. spring — the season
  15. bulb — for light
  16. field — for sport
  17. spring — a coil
  18. field — a subject
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. land — ground
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. roll — a cake

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