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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 120 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: chest · net · charge · kid · wax · fall · track · chair

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. net — in sport
  4. fall — to drop
  5. charge — in control
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. net — for catching
  8. charge — a price
  9. track — a path
  10. track — to keep track
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. fall — the season
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. track — a song
  17. charge — electricity
  18. net — after costs
  19. chair — a leader
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chest — of your body
  23. fall — to drop
  24. wax — to grow

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