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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. cap — of ice
  5. band — a music group
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. band — a ring
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. rest — a break
  12. ball — a great time
  13. swing — in golf
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. cap — a hat
  18. ball — a dance
  19. deal — to handle
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. rest — what's left
  22. wax — to grow
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rest — what's left

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