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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. club — for dancing
  4. hand — help
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. wax — to grow
  10. stand — to bear
  11. ground — the earth
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. fork — in a road
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. ground — a position
  24. hand — in cards

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