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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. spring — of water
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. lean — thin
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. cell — a phone
  10. spring — the season
  11. cell — in biology
  12. spring — a coil
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wax — to grow
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. lean — to bend
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bass — low music

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