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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: nail · bulb · stem · shower · tube · row · mug · straw

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. tube — the underground
  6. bulb — for light
  7. row — a line
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bulb — for light
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. shower — rain
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. mug — a face
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stem — to come from
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. mug — a cup

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