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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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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 · chair · tear · straw · net · club · mark · bulb

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — for catching
  3. chair — a leader
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mark — a trace
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bulb — for light
  9. kid — child
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bulb — for light
  12. club — for dancing
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. net — after costs
  18. tear — to rip
  19. kid — to tease
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. club — a group
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. club — for golf
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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