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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. hand — in cards
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. track — to keep track
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. cold — not warm
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. object — a thing
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. hand — help
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. object — an aim
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. track — a song
  19. cold — an illness
  20. track — a path
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. bear — the animal
  24. wax — to grow

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