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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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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: bay · straw · pop · swing · cold · bank · fall · wax

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. bank — for money
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. pop — music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bank — for money
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. wax — to grow
  15. cold — an illness
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fall — the season
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bank — of a river
  20. pop — to visit
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. swing — music
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wax — in the ear

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