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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 120 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wax — to grow
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. fall — the season
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. kid — child
  9. fall — to drop
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. kid — to tease
  13. staff — employees
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wind — moving air
  16. staff — a stick
  17. staff — employees
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. saw — the tool
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. branch — a division
  24. wax — in the ear

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