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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. wind — moving air
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wound — an injury
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. wax — to grow
  14. foot — a measure
  15. wind — moving air
  16. mate — to breed
  17. mate — a partner
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. mate — a friend
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. saw — the tool
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. wound — an injury

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