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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bear — the animal
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — in golf
  6. bear — the animal
  7. row — a line
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pop — soda
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. row — to paddle
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — to grow
  22. swing — music
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. ruler — for measuring

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