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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: straw · hand · mark · bulb · field · staff · saw · plane

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. saw — the tool
  3. field — a subject
  4. plane — a tool
  5. field — for sport
  6. saw — the tool
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — for light
  11. staff — a stick
  12. mark — a grade
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. field — farmland
  15. hand — help
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. hand — in cards
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. staff — employees
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. mark — a trace
  24. staff — employees

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