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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. net — after costs
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. date — the fruit
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. rule — a law
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. net — in sport
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. rule — government
  16. net — for catching
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. wound — an injury
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wax — to grow
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. snap — to click

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