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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. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. row — a line
  6. shower — rain
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. wax — to grow
  14. plane — a tool
  15. row — to paddle
  16. wound — an injury
  17. shower — to wash
  18. kick — in football
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. wound — an injury
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. straw — dry grass

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