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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. staff — a stick
  4. kick — in football
  5. file — a tool
  6. spell — magic
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. spell — a short time
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. file — a document
  12. wind — moving air
  13. staff — employees
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. spell — letters
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wind — moving air
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. staff — employees
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wax — to grow
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. sharp — clever

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