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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: firm · saw · race · straw · drill · content · bat · wax

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. drill — the tool
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. firm — steady
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. race — humankind
  8. firm — a company
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bat — the animal
  12. firm — decided
  13. content — the amount
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. race — the arms race
  17. drill — army training
  18. wax — to grow
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. race — a contest
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. drill — a practice
  24. content — happy

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