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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bound — certain
  4. branch — a division
  5. rule — government
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. content — happy
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bound — obliged
  13. ball — a dance
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. bound — tied together
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. content — the amount
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. rule — a law
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. content — videos and posts

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