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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: tear · straw · wax · rest · field · chair · present · craft

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. tear — from crying
  5. field — a subject
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. rest — a break
  8. chair — a leader
  9. craft — a skill
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. rest — what's left
  13. present — the time now
  14. present — a gift
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. wax — to grow
  17. present — there
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. craft — boats
  22. rest — what's left
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. craft — a handicraft

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