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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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. bound — certain
  3. wax — to grow
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. object — to protest
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bound — tied together
  10. court — of law
  11. press — newspapers
  12. press — to push
  13. object — a thing
  14. object — an aim
  15. court — of a king
  16. march — music
  17. bound — obliged
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. march — the month
  20. press — a publisher
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. march — the month
  24. court — for sport

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