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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 120 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: bay · bound · stand · straw · kid · prune · wax · chest

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. stand — to bear
  3. kid — child
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. chest — a box
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. bound — obliged
  11. chest — of your body
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. bound — certain
  23. kid — to tease
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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