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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  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. chair — a professorship
  2. land — to come down
  3. wind — moving air
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. wax — to grow
  6. clip — a video
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. land — ground
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. land — a country
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. wind — moving air
  17. lean — thin
  18. lean — to bend
  19. clip — for paper
  20. vault — a safe
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. clip — to cut
  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