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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: fine · kid · bulb · bay · chest · ball · straw · pitcher

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. ball — a dance
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. fine — high quality
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chest — a box
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. ball — a great time
  14. fine — all right
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kid — child
  23. bulb — for light
  24. straw — dry grass

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