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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: straw · present · saw · cabinet · wax · wind · chair · hand

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wax — to grow
  3. hand — help
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. saw — the tool
  8. saw — the tool
  9. present — a gift
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. hand — in cards
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. present — there
  19. chair — a leader
  20. present — the time now
  21. wind — moving air
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. wax — in the ear

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