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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. craft — a skill
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wax — to grow
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. fall — to drop
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bore — to drill
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. game — wild animals
  15. bore — to tire
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — to eat
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. craft — boats
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. snap — to click

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