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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. band — a music group
  3. wax — to grow
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. snap — to click
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. wind — moving air
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. can — a tin
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. band — a ring
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wind — moving air
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. stand — to bear
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. can — a tin
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. shower — rain
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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