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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. spell — a short time
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. present — there
  5. current — electric
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. spell — magic
  9. current — of water
  10. present — the time now
  11. march — the month
  12. current — happening now
  13. present — a gift
  14. dip — to sink
  15. hand — help
  16. hand — in cards
  17. wax — to grow
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. spell — letters
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. wax — for sculpting

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