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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. can — to be able to
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. bass — low music
  5. can — a tin
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. file — a tool
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. land — a country
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. file — a document
  12. can — a tin
  13. wax — to grow
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bulb — for light
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bulb — for light
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to click
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. straw — dry grass

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