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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: clip · pop · arm · can · last · straw · wax · pitcher

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. wax — to grow
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. last — finally
  6. pop — to visit
  7. pop — music
  8. can — a tin
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. last — final
  14. clip — a video
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. clip — for paper
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. pop — soda
  22. clip — to cut
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. arm — part of the body

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