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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. lean — to bend
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. mug — a face
  5. net — in sport
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. net — for catching
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. mug — to rob
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. net — after costs
  17. lean — thin
  18. wound — an injury
  19. mug — a cup
  20. pop — to visit
  21. wound — an injury
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. pop — soda

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