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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 · coach · track · wax · chest · perch · sharp · straw

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cell — a phone
  4. sharp — clever
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chest — of your body
  8. track — to keep track
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chest — a box
  11. cell — in biology
  12. track — a song
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wax — to grow
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. track — a path
  17. perch — the fish
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cell — in a prison
  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