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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: kid · bulb · ground · kick · spring · lash · nail · straw

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. ground — crushed
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bulb — for light
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. ground — a position
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. kid — to tease
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bulb — for light
  16. ground — the earth
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. kick — in football
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. kid — child
  24. nail — for a hammer

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