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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: wind · cap · bear · rule · wax · chair

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — to grow
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. bear — the animal
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. bear — the animal
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. wind — moving air
  10. rule — government
  11. cap — of ice
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rule — a law
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader

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