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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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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: pitcher · bark · deal · band · wax · root · race · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. wax — to grow
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — to handle
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. root — of a plant
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. root — the cause
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. bark — to shout
  19. race — the arms race
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. root — of a word
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. chair — a leader
  24. band — a ring

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