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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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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. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. capital — a city
  3. chair — a leader
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. craft — boats
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. board — to get on
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. court — of a king
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. craft — a skill
  13. capital — money
  14. board — a committee
  15. court — for sport
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. court — of law
  24. wax — to grow

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