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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. present — the time now
  4. dip — to sink
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rock — music
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. present — a gift
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. wax — to grow
  20. saw — the tool
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. rock — a stone
  24. present — there

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