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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: wax · firm · ground · pit · file · rush · chair · mark

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. firm — a company
  3. file — a tool
  4. rush — hurry
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — a position
  7. wax — to grow
  8. pit — a hole
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. file — a document
  15. pit — in a race
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. mark — a grade
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. mark — a trace
  21. firm — steady
  22. ground — the earth
  23. firm — decided
  24. rush — a thrill

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