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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  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. wax — for sculpting
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. chair — a leader
  4. staff — employees
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. shower — rain
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. tube — the underground
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. tube — a container
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wax — to grow
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. staff — employees
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. staff — a stick
  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