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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. saw — the tool
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wax — to grow
  8. swing — to play on
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. mark — a grade
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. swing — music
  14. staff — a stick
  15. mark — a trace
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fine — all right
  18. fine — high quality
  19. saw — the tool
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — employees
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. swing — in golf

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