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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. wax — to grow
  3. board — a committee
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. face — to confront
  12. perch — the fish
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. face — to point toward
  18. band — a music group
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. band — a ring
  22. board — to get on
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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