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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — for sculpting
  2. cell — in biology
  3. rash — a series
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. spring — the season
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. rash — hasty
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. wax — to grow
  24. chair — a leader

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