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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. club — a group
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mate — a partner
  7. mate — a friend
  8. club — for dancing
  9. band — a ring
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. lean — to bend
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. lean — thin
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. band — a music group
  21. mate — to breed
  22. club — for golf
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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