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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: file · straw · hand · tear · club · bulb · kick · board

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. kick — in football
  4. file — a tool
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. hand — in cards
  8. board — to get on
  9. file — a document
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. tear — from crying
  13. file — a line of people
  14. board — a committee
  15. hand — help
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — for dancing
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. club — a group
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. straw — a straw man

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