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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. lean — thin
  4. last — to go on
  5. net — for catching
  6. tube — the underground
  7. net — in sport
  8. last — final
  9. last — finally
  10. lean — to bend
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. net — after costs
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. tube — a container
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. kick — in football
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. tube — in a tire

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