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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 · wax · cell · ground · straw · pitch · stem · staff

  1. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — to clutch at straws
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. content — the amount
  5. staff — employees
  6. wax — to grow
  7. ground — crushed
  8. staff — employees
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. cell — in biology
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. staff — a stick
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. pitch — completely
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. content — happy
  22. stem — to come from
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — a position

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