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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. face — to confront
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. face — part of the head
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. wax — to grow
  10. face — to point toward
  11. band — a ring
  12. file — a document
  13. band — a music group
  14. wake — a trail
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. bound — obliged
  17. bound — tied together
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. file — a tool
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. file — a line of people

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