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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mate · chair · wax · ground · jam · hide · saw · swing

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. swing — to play on
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. mate — a partner
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mate — a friend
  9. swing — in golf
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. ground — a position
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mate — to breed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. chair — a leader
  20. wax — to grow
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. swing — music

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