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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — crushed
  5. saw — the tool
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. ground — a position
  9. bass — the fish
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bass — low music
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. cold — an illness
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. stand — to bear
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. cold — not warm

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