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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 · roll · pitch · hand · wind · firm · sharp · coach

  1. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wind — moving air
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. firm — steady
  5. firm — decided
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wax — to grow
  8. hand — in cards
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. roll — a cake
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. sharp — clever
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. firm — a company
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. hand — help
  24. roll — a list

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