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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: kid · lash · pitcher · straw · band · bulb · date · firm

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. date — the fruit
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. firm — a company
  10. firm — decided
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. kid — child
  13. firm — steady
  14. band — a ring
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bulb — for light
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. kid — to tease
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. band — a music group
  22. bulb — for light
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. date — on the calendar

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