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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 116 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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pop — to visit
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wax — to grow
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. mine — for digging
  9. kid — to tease
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. plane — a tool
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. pop — music
  18. kid — child
  19. pop — soda
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. fan — a supporter

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