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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: ball · squash · lean · wax · straw · mug · shower · net

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — after costs
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. mug — a face
  7. lean — thin
  8. shower — to wash
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. squash — the sport
  11. wax — to grow
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. ball — a dance
  14. mug — to rob
  15. squash — to crush
  16. lean — to bend
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. net — for catching
  22. ball — a great time
  23. mug — a cup
  24. shower — rain

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