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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 116 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. saw — the tool
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. wind — moving air
  11. ground — the earth
  12. capital — money
  13. vault — a safe
  14. saw — the tool
  15. wax — to grow
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. ground — a position
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. ground — crushed
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. capital — a city

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