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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — for dancing
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. bear — the animal
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. wound — an injury
  10. cap — a lid
  11. roll — a list
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. wound — an injury
  14. roll — a cake
  15. club — a group
  16. bear — the animal
  17. foot — a measure
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. cap — a hat
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cap — of ice
  24. foot — the bottom

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