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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. saw — the tool
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stock — shares
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. rush — hurry
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wake — a trail
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. wind — moving air
  17. deal — to handle
  18. stock — goods
  19. wax — to grow
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. wind — moving air
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wind — to turn a key

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