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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. shower — rain
  3. wax — to grow
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in biology
  8. suit — clothes
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. cold — an illness
  12. cold — not warm
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. suit — to fit
  16. last — to go on
  17. suit — in cards
  18. last — finally
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. last — final
  21. branch — a division
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wax — for sculpting

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