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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. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. drill — the tool
  3. spring — the season
  4. rest — what's left
  5. drill — a practice
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. kid — child
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. rest — what's left
  14. drill — army training
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spring — of water
  19. snap — to click
  20. rest — a break
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. rush — hurry
  23. kid — to tease
  24. spring — a coil

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