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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  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 — dry grass
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. snap — to click
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. craft — a skill
  9. row — to paddle
  10. capital — money
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. wax — to grow
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. row — a line
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. ball — a great time
  22. capital — a city
  23. craft — boats
  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