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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: straw · wind · toast · squash · tear · lean · face · wave

  1. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. squash — the sport
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. face — part of the head
  6. toast — bread
  7. squash — to crush
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. lean — thin
  12. wind — moving air
  13. lean — to bend
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. face — to confront
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. tear — to rip
  20. face — to point toward
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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