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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. rest — a break
  4. wax — to grow
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. rest — what's left
  9. mate — a partner
  10. rest — what's left
  11. stock — goods
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — to breed
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wind — moving air
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wind — moving air
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stock — shares
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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