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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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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 took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. squash — to crush
  4. tear — from crying
  5. squash — the sport
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wax — to grow
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. bank — for money
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. staff — a stick
  19. bank — of a river
  20. staff — employees
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. staff — employees
  23. bank — for money
  24. rush — hurry

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