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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. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pop — music
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stock — shares
  10. pop — soda
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. stand — to bear
  15. mine — for digging
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wax — to grow
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. squash — the sport
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. stock — goods
  24. pop — to visit

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