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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: wax · racket · chair · deal · mine · race

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. mine — for digging
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. race — a contest
  10. chair — a leader
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. deal — to handle
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. race — the arms race
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. race — humankind

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