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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. rash — hasty
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. rash — a series
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. prune — to trim
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. prune — to trim
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. hand — in cards
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. hand — help
  17. wind — moving air
  18. dip — to sink
  19. wax — to grow
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. wind — moving air
  24. patient — a sick person

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