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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bore — to tire
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. wax — to grow
  9. fall — the season
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. field — a subject
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. lean — thin
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. bore — to drill
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. fall — to drop
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. lean — to bend

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