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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wax — to grow
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mark — a trace
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. last — to go on
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. hand — help
  19. mark — a grade
  20. last — final
  21. content — happy
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. last — finally
  24. content — the amount

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