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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: bound · rule · chair · wax · club · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. bound — certain
  4. chair — a leader
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. rule — a law
  9. club — for golf
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bound — tied together
  12. wax — to grow
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. rule — government
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. bound — obliged
  17. club — a group
  18. tear — to rip

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