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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: key · wax · bat · chest · bear · ruler · racket · straw

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. bat — the animal
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. key — in music
  15. bear — the animal
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. key — the most important part
  21. chest — a box
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. key — for a lock
  24. wax — to grow

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