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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. wound — an injury
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bark — to shout
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wound — an injury
  9. press — a publisher
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. last — to go on
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. press — newspapers
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. press — to push
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. last — final
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. last — finally

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