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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. charge — electricity
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rash — hasty
  10. wake — a trail
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. clip — for paper
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — a price
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. rash — a series

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