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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 120 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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. field — for sport
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. tube — a container
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wax — to grow
  14. field — a subject
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. foot — a measure
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. pass — a permit
  21. ball — a dance
  22. field — farmland
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. tube — the underground

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