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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: hand · cue · bound · straw · bulb · wind · trunk · net

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. wind — moving air
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cue — a signal
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cue — a hint
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — tied together
  12. hand — help
  13. net — in sport
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. cue — for pool
  17. bulb — for light
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — for catching
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. bound — certain

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