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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 · staff · net · last · lean · mine · mouse · straw

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. last — final
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. last — finally
  6. lean — thin
  7. mine — for digging
  8. last — to go on
  9. wax — to grow
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. lean — to bend
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. staff — employees
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. net — in sport
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — a stick
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. net — for catching
  24. mine — belonging to me

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