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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. fall — to drop
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. wax — to grow
  7. row — a line
  8. staff — employees
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. row — to paddle
  11. staff — employees
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. fall — the season
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fall — to drop
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bore — to drill

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