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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: wax · roll · straw · patient · capital · pitcher · sharp · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. sharp — clever
  3. roll — a cake
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. capital — a city
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. roll — a list
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wax — to grow
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. capital — money
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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