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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. board — a committee
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. perch — the fish
  16. cold — not warm
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wax — to grow
  20. board — to get on
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. cold — an illness
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. deal — to handle

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