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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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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: arm · wind · tube · bulb · spell · straw · chest · wound

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. chest — of your body
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chest — a box
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bulb — for light
  14. spell — letters
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. wind — moving air
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. tube — the underground
  22. bulb — for light
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. spell — a short time

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