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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 120 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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. net — for catching
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. march — the month
  6. deal — to handle
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. net — after costs
  10. chest — a box
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. march — music
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. capital — money
  17. bear — the animal
  18. capital — a city
  19. chest — of your body
  20. march — the month
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. deal — an agreement

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