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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. cue — a signal
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — humankind
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. rule — government
  14. race — the arms race
  15. cue — a hint
  16. rule — a law
  17. cue — for pool
  18. hand — help
  19. wound — an injury
  20. wound — an injury
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. hand — in cards

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