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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: chair · mine · bore · pit · date · wax · rest · lean

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chair — a leader
  3. rest — what's left
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lean — thin
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. pit — in a race
  15. lean — to bend
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. bore — to tire
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rest — a break
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. date — the fruit
  23. pit — a hole
  24. bore — to drill

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