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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: bound · plane · tube · calf · bulb · mine · drill · chest

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. mine — for digging
  4. tube — a container
  5. bound — tied together
  6. chest — of your body
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. bulb — for light
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. chest — a box
  11. plane — a tool
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bound — certain
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. chest — of your body
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. bound — obliged
  19. drill — army training
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. drill — a practice
  22. tube — the underground
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. plane — in geometry

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