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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: mug · lash · cell · file · straw · bulb · cap · march

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cap — a lid
  3. bulb — for light
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. march — the month
  6. cap — a hat
  7. march — the month
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. mug — a face
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cell — a phone
  12. file — a document
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cap — of ice
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. file — a tool
  17. cell — in biology
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. mug — to rob
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. file — a line of people
  22. march — music
  23. mug — a cup
  24. cell — in a prison

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