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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 116 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. rash — hasty
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. rash — a series
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cell — in biology
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. kid — to tease
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. kid — child
  20. cell — a phone
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. rash — on the skin

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