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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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. ground — crushed
  4. mate — a partner
  5. ground — the earth
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mate — to breed
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. hand — help
  13. wax — to grow
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. mate — a friend
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. band — a music group
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. ground — a position
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. hand — in cards

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