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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. bore — to tire
  5. can — a tin
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. chair — a leader
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wax — to grow
  12. can — to be able to
  13. spell — letters
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. can — a tin
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. hand — help
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bore — to drill
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. spell — magic

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