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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: ground · fine · straw · bear · capital · wax · club · chair

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. 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. club — for dancing
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. club — for golf
  6. ground — a position
  7. bear — the animal
  8. ground — the earth
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. capital — money
  14. club — a group
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. fine — all right
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bear — the animal
  20. capital — a city
  21. ground — crushed
  22. wax — to grow
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. 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