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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 · row · bulb · object · straw · craft · tube · chest

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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. object — an aim
  4. chest — of your body
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bulb — for light
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. bound — tied together
  9. craft — boats
  10. object — to protest
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. chest — a box
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bound — obliged
  15. tube — a container
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. object — a thing
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. row — a line
  20. bound — certain
  21. tube — the underground
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. craft — a skill
  24. craft — a handicraft

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