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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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. staff — employees
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. rest — what's left
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wax — to grow
  9. cold — an illness
  10. rest — what's left
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. rest — a break
  14. staff — a stick
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. rash — hasty
  20. kick — in football
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. staff — employees
  24. mouse — the animal

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