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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 120 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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. cold — an illness
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wax — to grow
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. bass — the fish
  12. game — a match
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. craft — boats
  17. bass — low music
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. craft — a skill
  22. shower — rain
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. shower — to wash

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