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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. chair — a leader
  3. foot — a measure
  4. season — of the year
  5. mark — a trace
  6. wax — to grow
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. kid — to tease
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. season — in sport
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. present — the time now
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. present — there
  17. present — a gift
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — child

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