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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. file — a document
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mug — a face
  5. file — a tool
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. file — a line of people
  12. court — for sport
  13. spell — letters
  14. mug — a cup
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. snap — to click
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. court — of a king
  20. mug — to rob
  21. court — of law
  22. spell — magic
  23. wax — to grow
  24. straw — dry grass

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