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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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — to grow
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. fall — the season
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. pit — in a race
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bore — to drill
  18. land — ground
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. land — to come down
  21. pit — a hole
  22. land — a country
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wind — to turn a key

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