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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. face — to confront
  7. swing — in golf
  8. wind — moving air
  9. object — to protest
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of law
  13. object — an aim
  14. face — to point toward
  15. object — a thing
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. swing — music
  18. face — part of the head
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. court — of a king
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. arm — a part of something
  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