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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bound — tied together
  4. hand — help
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bound — certain
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. hand — in cards
  11. pass — a permit
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bound — obliged
  15. degree — an amount
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. pass — to spend time

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