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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bass — the fish
  6. track — to keep track
  7. craft — a skill
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. capital — a city
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. capital — money
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bass — low music
  17. bat — the animal
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. craft — boats
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wax — to grow
  23. track — a song
  24. track — a path

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