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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. degree — from a university
  8. wax — to grow
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. degree — an amount
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. game — a match
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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