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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: wax · rash · season · straw · bark · snap · cell · tear

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — a phone
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. tear — from crying
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. bark — to shout
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. season — of the year
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rash — a series
  17. rash — hasty
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. snap — to click
  22. cell — in biology
  23. season — in sport
  24. bark — of a tree

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