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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 is in your ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wax — to grow
  3. present — a gift
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. snap — to click
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pitch — completely
  9. court — of law
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. swing — to play on
  16. present — the time now
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. present — there
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. court — of a king

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