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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. scale — size or range
  3. stand — to bear
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. land — a country
  6. row — a line
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. chair — a leader
  10. land — ground
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. game — wild animals
  13. scale — in music
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. wax — to grow
  21. row — to paddle
  22. game — a match
  23. land — to come down
  24. coach — a trainer

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