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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: fall · mine · rest · bulb · last · fan · lash · straw

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. rest — a break
  8. mine — for digging
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bulb — for light
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. last — to go on
  16. fall — to drop
  17. last — final
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bulb — for light
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. rest — what's left
  23. last — finally
  24. fall — the season

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