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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. mate — to breed
  5. drill — a practice
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. mate — a friend
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. prune — to trim
  10. drill — army training
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. spring — of water
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. kick — in football
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. drill — the tool
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mate — a partner
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. prune — to trim

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