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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: chair · straw · wax · bark · pitcher · wind · rest · perch

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wind — moving air
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. chair — a leader
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. perch — the fish
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bark — to shout

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