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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: chest · fall · clip · bulb · calf · coach · straw · mouse

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. clip — to cut
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. clip — a video
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. chest — of your body
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fall — to drop
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. chest — of your body
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. clip — for paper
  19. fall — to drop
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fall — the season
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. chest — a box

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