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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cell — in biology
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cell — a phone
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. wax — to grow
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. lean — thin
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. lean — to bend
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. cell — in a prison

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