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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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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: chair · stick · fork · dip · wax · straw · prune · rash

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. rash — a series
  3. chair — a leader
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. fork — in a road
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — to sink
  11. wax — to grow
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. prune — to trim
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. rash — hasty
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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