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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: present · straw · firm · shower · clip · bulb · bear · hand

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. firm — steady
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. clip — for paper
  6. bulb — for light
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. clip — to cut
  9. shower — rain
  10. present — there
  11. present — the time now
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. present — a gift
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bear — the animal
  17. firm — decided
  18. shower — to wash
  19. firm — a company
  20. bear — the animal
  21. clip — a video
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. hand — help
  24. bulb — for light

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