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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: chair · rest · tear · wax · wake · clip

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. tear — from crying
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. wake — a trail
  5. rest — a break
  6. chair — a leader
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rest — what's left
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. tear — to rip
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. clip — for paper
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. 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