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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. pop — soda
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. wax — to grow
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. prune — to trim
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. pop — music
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. pop — to visit
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. straw — dry grass

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