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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: chest · wound · cue · fan · straw · foot · pitch · wax

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a signal
  7. foot — a measure
  8. pitch — completely
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wax — to grow
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chest — a box
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. cue — a hint
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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