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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. swing — to play on
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. band — a ring
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. cell — a phone
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bat — the animal
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bark — to shout
  18. cell — in biology
  19. swing — in golf
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. band — a music group
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. swing — music
  24. wax — for sculpting

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