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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 120 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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — to tease
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. saw — the tool
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wax — to grow
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. saw — the tool
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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