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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — help
  3. clip — to cut
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. clip — a video
  6. fine — high quality
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. fine — all right
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cue — for pool
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. cue — a signal
  14. clip — for paper
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. prune — to trim
  17. band — a music group
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. band — a ring
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cue — a hint
  24. prune — to trim

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