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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.

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: bulb · chest · trunk · straw · mouse · sharp · file · wake

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. chest — of your body
  3. file — a document
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. wake — a trail
  6. chest — a box
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. sharp — clever
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. file — a tool
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. file — a line of people
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bulb — for light
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. bulb — for light
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. trunk — of a car

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