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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bulb · spring · date · straw · degree · wound · snap

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. date — the fruit
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. snap — to click
  7. mug — to rob
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. mug — a cup
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bulb — for light
  12. spring — the season
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wound — an injury
  17. spring — of water
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. mug — a face
  20. bulb — for light
  21. degree — temperature
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. spring — a coil
  24. wound — an injury

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