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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. rock — music
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — of water
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. perch — the fish
  15. sharp — clever
  16. roll — a list
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. rock — a stone
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. spring — the season
  24. roll — a cake

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