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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 · straw · file · spring · swing · field · arm · rock

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. spring — a coil
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. field — farmland
  7. file — a document
  8. file — a tool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. rock — music
  11. field — a subject
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bulb — for light
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. swing — to play on
  16. spring — of water
  17. spring — the season
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. swing — music
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. rock — a stone
  22. field — for sport
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. swing — in golf

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