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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fall — to drop
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wax — to grow
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. scale — size or range
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. fall — to drop
  16. sharp — clever
  17. content — happy
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. scale — in music
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. content — the amount
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. fall — the season

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