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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: bulb · stick · pop · mate · lean · cell · sharp · straw

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. mate — a friend
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pop — music
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. lean — to bend
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cell — a phone
  14. bulb — for light
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pop — soda
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. mate — a partner
  20. mate — to breed
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. lean — thin
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. cell — in biology

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