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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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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 · snap · cell · lean · bulb · tear · season · saw

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cell — in biology
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bulb — for light
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. lean — thin
  11. snap — to click
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. tear — to rip
  14. bulb — for light
  15. season — of the year
  16. cell — a phone
  17. tear — from crying
  18. season — in sport
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. saw — the tool
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. lean — to bend

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