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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cell · straw · wax · chest · fan · row · lean · can

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. chest — a box
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. can — a tin
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. row — a line
  14. cell — in biology
  15. row — to paddle
  16. wax — to grow
  17. can — a tin
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. lean — to bend
  20. lean — thin
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. chest — of your body
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. can — to be able to

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