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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. chair — a leader
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. land — to come down
  10. root — of a word
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. root — the cause
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. root — of a plant
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. board — to get on
  20. land — a country
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. board — a committee
  24. wax — to grow

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