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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: wax · rock · bay · rash · kid · foot · present · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — a stone
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. present — a gift
  6. rash — a series
  7. foot — a measure
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — to tease
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. rash — hasty
  18. present — the time now
  19. kid — child
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. wax — to grow
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. present — there

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