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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: shower · clip · wax · pass · sharp · ground · straw · rest

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. pass — a permit
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. shower — rain
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. clip — for paper
  7. rest — what's left
  8. ground — a position
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rest — a break
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. clip — a video
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. ground — crushed
  21. rest — what's left
  22. ground — the earth
  23. clip — to cut
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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