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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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Word bank
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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 · craft · straw · plane · cap · toast · fork · game

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  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. toast — the most admired
  2. wax — to grow
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — a match
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. craft — boats
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. fork — in a road
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. toast — bread
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. cap — a lid
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cap — of ice
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. plane — a tool
  20. craft — a skill
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cap — a hat
  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