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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 · fork · file · wax · squash · chest · dip

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. wind — moving air
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chest — a box
  7. file — a tool
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. file — a document
  10. squash — to crush
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. chest — of your body
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wax — to grow
  17. squash — the sport
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. dip — to sink
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. chest — of your body

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