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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: saw · straw · hand · chest · file · prune · bulb · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — government
  3. bulb — for light
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bulb — for light
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — the tool
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. chest — of your body
  14. file — a tool
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. file — a document
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. prune — to trim
  21. hand — help
  22. chest — a box
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. chest — of your body

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