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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wax — to grow
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. firm — steady
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. firm — decided
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. firm — a company
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. cold — an illness
  20. dip — to sink
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. cold — not warm
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — in geometry

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