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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: net · chest · bulb · firm · cold · fork · straw · kick

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. chest — a box
  6. bulb — for light
  7. firm — steady
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. firm — decided
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — in a road
  13. chest — of your body
  14. firm — a company
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bulb — for light
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. net — for catching
  21. cold — an illness
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. cold — not warm

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