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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 120 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 museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. last — final
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wax — to grow
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. tear — from crying
  15. season — in sport
  16. plane — a tool
  17. last — finally
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. season — of the year
  21. tear — to rip
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. last — to go on
  24. tear — from crying

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