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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: club · pitcher · tube · bulb · straw · stem · mug · bat

  1. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. club — a group
  3. mug — to rob
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. mug — a cup
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. club — for dancing
  13. mug — a face
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stem — to come from
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. club — for golf
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bulb — for light

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