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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 · bulb · cold · craft · fall · fine · straw · saw

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. craft — boats
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. fine — high quality
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. saw — the tool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cold — not warm
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. fine — all right
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. saw — the tool
  21. fall — the season
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cold — an illness

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