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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: bay · straw · bulb · bat · swing · staff · vault · chest

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. swing — music
  4. vault — a safe
  5. swing — to play on
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. chest — of your body
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. swing — in golf
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — employees
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. staff — a stick
  19. chest — of your body
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. chest — a box
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bat — the animal

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