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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: straw · fine · spring · tube · swing · bulb · kick · kid

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kid — child
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. swing — to play on
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. tube — a container
  8. spring — of water
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. swing — music
  11. spring — a coil
  12. tube — the underground
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. swing — in golf
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bulb — for light
  17. kick — in football
  18. fine — high quality
  19. fine — all right
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. spring — the season
  23. kid — to tease
  24. tube — in a tire

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