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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. lean — to bend
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. fine — high quality
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. chair — a leader
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. lean — thin
  15. fine — all right
  16. roll — a list
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. roll — a cake
  20. rush — hurry
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. bark — to shout
  23. wax — in the ear
  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