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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: trunk · bulb · nail · wind · straw · club · chest · fall

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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. nail — for a hammer
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. club — for golf
  7. fall — to drop
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. bulb — for light
  10. club — a group
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — the season
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. wind — moving air
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. chest — a box
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chest — of your body
  22. club — for dancing
  23. chest — of your body
  24. trunk — of a car

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