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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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. wax — to grow
  4. object — to protest
  5. capital — money
  6. ball — a great time
  7. race — a contest
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. rule — a law
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. race — humankind
  13. ball — a dance
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. capital — a city
  16. object — a thing
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. object — an aim
  20. chair — a leader
  21. race — the arms race
  22. rule — government
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. capital — a big letter

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