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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. wax — to grow
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. staff — employees
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. fall — to drop
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. fall — to drop
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. staff — a stick
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cold — not warm
  19. pitch — completely
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. staff — employees
  22. chest — a box
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. ruler — a monarch

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