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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: rest · lean · bulb · shower · tear · ball · straw · tube

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. ball — a great time
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. tear — from crying
  13. shower — rain
  14. rest — a break
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bulb — for light
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bulb — for light
  19. tube — a container
  20. rest — what's left
  21. ball — a dance
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. tear — from crying

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