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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 116 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 · wax · mouse · march · leaves · cell · mate · kid

  1. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. mate — to breed
  5. march — the month
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mate — a partner
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. march — the month
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. kid — to tease
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. cell — in biology
  19. chair — a leader
  20. march — music
  21. mate — a friend
  22. wax — to grow
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. wax — in the ear

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