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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: wave · mouse · chest · straw · fan · tear · date · stock

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. stock — shares
  5. date — the fruit
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stock — goods
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chest — of your body
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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