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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.

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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: vault · bay · fan · bulb · stem · chest · straw · drill

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. vault — a safe
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bulb — for light
  7. drill — a practice
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. stem — to come from
  11. chest — of your body
  12. drill — army training
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. drill — the tool
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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