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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 goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. wax — to grow
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. plane — a tool
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. bat — the animal
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. branch — a division
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — on your feet

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