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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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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 · bulb · straw · arm · wound · snap · club · fall

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bulb — for light
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. bulb — for light
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. club — for dancing
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. fall — to drop
  10. file — a line of people
  11. club — a group
  12. fall — to drop
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. file — a document
  18. fall — the season
  19. file — a tool
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. club — for golf
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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