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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. scale — size or range
  6. chair — a leader
  7. kid — child
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. scale — in music
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. toast — bread
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. kid — to tease
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. wax — to grow
  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