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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 116 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. press — newspapers
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wax — to grow
  6. press — to push
  7. club — for golf
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. club — a group
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. club — for dancing
  17. bat — the animal
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. press — a publisher
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — a container
  23. fall — to drop
  24. tube — in a tire

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