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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 116 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: cell · mug · straw · bulb · staff · spring · ground · lie

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. cell — a phone
  3. mug — to rob
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mug — a face
  9. bulb — for light
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. bulb — for light
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. lie — to recline
  16. staff — a stick
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. staff — employees
  20. mug — a cup
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. staff — employees
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — the season

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