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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. wax — to grow
  3. net — in sport
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wound — an injury
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wound — an injury
  13. saw — the tool
  14. net — after costs
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bore — to tire
  18. saw — the tool
  19. net — for catching
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bore — to drill
  24. ground — the earth

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