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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cold — not warm
  4. field — for sport
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. cue — a hint
  7. can — a tin
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. field — a subject
  10. wax — to grow
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. field — farmland
  14. cue — a signal
  15. rest — a break
  16. staff — a stick
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. staff — employees
  20. rest — what's left
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. can — to be able to
  23. can — a tin
  24. staff — employees

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