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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: chip · wax · ruler · press · sharp · bat · mouse · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wax — to grow
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chip — for betting
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. chip — to eat
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — to push
  22. press — a publisher
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. sharp — clever

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