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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · jam · stock · wax · calf · bat · wound · hand

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. hand — help
  7. stock — shares
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wax — to grow
  20. stock — goods
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bat — the animal
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. wound — an injury

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