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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. pop — to visit
  3. date — the fruit
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. track — a song
  6. wax — to grow
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. track — to keep track
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. pop — soda
  14. wound — an injury
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. pop — music
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. track — a path
  24. row — a line

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