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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. rush — hurry
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. spell — a short time
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. spell — magic
  13. rash — a series
  14. wax — to grow
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. spell — letters
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. vault — a safe
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rash — hasty
  23. branch — a division
  24. wax — for sculpting

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