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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 would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wax — to grow
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. toast — bread
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. last — final
  24. fork — in a road

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