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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 · kick · cold · arm · straw · ball · ruler · bowl

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wax — to grow
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. cold — not warm
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. ball — a dance
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. kick — in football

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