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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: content · staff · straw · coach · wax · sharp · face · spell

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. face — to confront
  3. wax — to grow
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. spell — a short time
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. staff — employees
  8. content — happy
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. spell — letters
  17. spell — magic
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. staff — employees
  20. face — part of the head
  21. staff — a stick
  22. face — to point toward
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. coach — a trainer

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