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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. net — for catching
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wax — to grow
  6. net — in sport
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. tear — to rip
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. net — after costs
  14. pound — a weight
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. craft — boats
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. kick — in football
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. craft — a skill

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