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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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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: chest · net · wax · chair · straw · kick · pound · bulb

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bulb — for light
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bulb — for light
  18. pound — a weight
  19. chest — a box
  20. wax — to grow
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. net — after costs
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. wax — for sculpting

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