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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: arm · board · bulb · straw · kid · nail · stem · game

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. game — wild animals
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stem — to come from
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. game — a match
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. board — a committee
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bulb — for light
  18. kid — child
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. straw — a straw man

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