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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. ground — crushed
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. chair — a leader
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. ground — a position
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. wax — to grow
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. cap — a lid
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. cap — of ice
  20. band — a music group
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. band — a ring
  24. ground — the earth

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