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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: bear · bulb · wax · cell · drill · chair · spring · straw

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. cell — a phone
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bear — the animal
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bear — the animal
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bulb — for light
  13. chair — a leader
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spring — of water
  22. bulb — for light
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. chair — a professorship

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