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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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. game — wild animals
  4. wax — to grow
  5. cue — a hint
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. cue — a signal
  8. face — to confront
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. face — to point toward
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cold — an illness
  15. game — a match
  16. face — part of the head
  17. cold — not warm
  18. toast — bread
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. cue — for pool
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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