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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · bat · rule · bore · bulb · club · straw · land

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. land — to come down
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bulb — for light
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bore — to drill
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bore — to tire
  10. club — for dancing
  11. land — a country
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. shower — to wash
  15. land — ground
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. rule — government
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for golf
  22. shower — rain
  23. rule — a law
  24. bulb — for light

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