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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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Word bank
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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 · present · race · cell · cabinet · wax

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. race — a contest
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. race — humankind
  6. wax — to grow
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. present — there
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. present — the time now

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