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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. last — finally
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. season — of the year
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. last — final
  11. cap — of ice
  12. wax — to grow
  13. cap — a hat
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. scale — in music
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. last — to go on
  19. season — in sport
  20. dip — to sink
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. cap — a lid
  23. chair — a leader
  24. dip — a sauce

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