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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. wax — to grow
  13. spell — letters
  14. tear — from crying
  15. court — for sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. spell — magic
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — of law
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. spell — a short time
  24. court — of a king

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