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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 · wave · chest · pitch · pop · straw · row · sharp

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. chest — of your body
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. pop — music
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. pitch — completely
  18. pop — soda
  19. row — a line
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. sharp — clever
  24. row — to paddle

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