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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: fork · tear · band · wax · spell · straw · fall · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. spell — a short time
  4. tear — to rip
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. spell — magic
  7. fork — in a road
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. fall — the season
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. spell — letters
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. pop — to visit
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wax — to grow
  21. band — a music group
  22. fall — to drop
  23. band — a ring
  24. pop — soda

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