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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wind — moving air
  6. track — a path
  7. stock — goods
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. wind — moving air
  11. track — to keep track
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wax — to grow
  14. stock — shares
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. pit — in a race
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. pit — a hole
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. wake — a trail
  22. track — a song
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. straw — a straw man

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