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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 116 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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. capital — money
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. chair — a leader
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wax — to grow
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. capital — a city
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. court — for sport
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. wind — moving air
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. rest — a break
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. court — of law
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. court — of a king
  24. rest — what's left

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