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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 moon will ________________ and wane.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — to grow
  2. chair — a leader
  3. wind — moving air
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cell — in biology
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cell — a phone
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. mate — to breed
  21. mate — a friend
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. patient — a sick person

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