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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. shower — to wash
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. object — a thing
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. face — to point toward
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. wax — to grow
  10. cold — not warm
  11. object — to protest
  12. face — part of the head
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. club — for golf
  15. face — to confront
  16. vault — a safe
  17. shower — rain
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cold — an illness
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. club — a group
  24. object — an aim

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