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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. fall — the season
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pit — a hole
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. chair — a leader
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. wax — to grow
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. rule — government
  14. fall — to drop
  15. fall — to drop
  16. mate — a partner
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rule — a law
  19. mate — a friend
  20. rush — hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. mate — to breed
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rule — to rule out

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