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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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 — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — letters
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bound — obliged
  9. race — the arms race
  10. race — a contest
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spell — a short time
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. bound — certain
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. race — humankind
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. bound — tied together
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. straw — a straw man

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