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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: mine · wax · club · straw · spell · degree · wake · shower

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. degree — an amount
  3. spell — magic
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wake — a trail
  9. club — for dancing
  10. spell — letters
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. club — a group
  14. shower — to wash
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. mine — for digging
  19. club — for golf
  20. spell — a short time
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. shower — rain
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. straw — dry grass

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