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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. kid — to tease
  4. tear — to rip
  5. hand — help
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. kid — child
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wax — to grow
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. tear — from crying
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tube — a container
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. ball — a dance

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