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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. wax — to grow
  4. march — the month
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. shower — rain
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. deal — to handle
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. chip — to eat
  14. shower — to wash
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. chip — for betting
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. fork — in a road
  24. kick — in football

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