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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 120 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: straw · sharp · wax · trunk · season · land · coach · cue

  1. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cue — a signal
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. land — ground
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cue — for pool
  9. season — of the year
  10. cue — a hint
  11. wax — to grow
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. land — to come down
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. season — in sport
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. land — a country
  24. wax — in the ear

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