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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 120 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: mug · firm · straw · chest · scale · wax · wind · march

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. firm — steady
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. mug — a cup
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. mug — a face
  10. firm — a company
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. firm — decided
  13. wax — to grow
  14. chest — a box
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. march — the month
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mug — to rob
  22. scale — size or range
  23. wind — moving air
  24. scale — in music

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