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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. prune — to trim
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. drill — a practice
  6. last — final
  7. last — finally
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. prune — to trim
  12. band — a music group
  13. wax — to grow
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — the season
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. fall — to drop
  19. drill — army training
  20. band — a ring
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. drill — the tool
  24. last — to go on

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