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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. clip — a video
  7. hand — in cards
  8. swing — music
  9. saw — the tool
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. clip — for paper
  12. saw — the tool
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. swing — in golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. object — an aim
  20. hand — help
  21. clip — to cut
  22. object — a thing
  23. wax — to grow
  24. object — to protest

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