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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
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: pitcher · coach · mark · chest · squash · wax · rest · content

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. content — happy
  7. squash — the sport
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rest — a break
  11. chest — a box
  12. wax — to grow
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. mark — a grade
  15. content — the amount
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. chest — of your body
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. mark — a trace
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. squash — to crush

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