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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 124 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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. pop — soda
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pop — music
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bank — for money
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. spring — of water
  14. shower — to wash
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bank — for money
  17. shower — rain
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — a coil
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pop — to visit
  23. march — the month
  24. wax — to grow

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