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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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. band — a ring
  6. wax — to grow
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. band — a music group
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. pitch — completely
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. rush — hurry
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. snap — to click
  24. fall — the season

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