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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wax — to grow
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. tear — to rip
  8. march — music
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. march — the month
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. tear — from crying
  15. march — the month
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bear — the animal

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