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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 116 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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Word bank
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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. fine — high quality
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. tear — to rip
  5. press — newspapers
  6. kid — child
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. press — a publisher
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — to grow
  12. kid — to tease
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. press — to push
  18. fine — all right
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. tear — from crying
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. chair — a leader
  24. bark — to shout

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