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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: mate · lie · chip · bulb · file · bat · bear · straw

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mate — a partner
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. lie — to recline
  6. file — a line of people
  7. chip — to eat
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mate — a friend
  12. file — a tool
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — the animal
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. mate — to breed
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. file — a document
  19. chip — for betting
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. lie — an untruth

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