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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. key — the most important part
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. file — a line of people
  8. mark — a grade
  9. mark — a trace
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — in music
  12. wax — to grow
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. dip — to sink
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. file — a tool
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. file — a document

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