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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. object — to protest
  5. wax — to grow
  6. mug — a face
  7. rush — hurry
  8. drill — army training
  9. object — a thing
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. swing — music
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. object — an aim
  18. swing — in golf
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a cup
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. swing — to play on
  23. rash — hasty
  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