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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 116 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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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: stick · kid · chair · fan · straw · bulb · snap · band

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bulb — for light
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. snap — to click
  9. chair — a leader
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. kid — child
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. kid — to tease
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. fan — a supporter

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