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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rock — a stone
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. last — final
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rock — music
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cell — a phone
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cell — in biology
  18. last — finally
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wax — to grow
  22. rush — hurry
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. last — to go on

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