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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: rest · jam · chair · rush · march · tear · wax · root

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wax — to grow
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. tear — from crying
  6. root — of a plant
  7. root — the cause
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. root — of a word
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — a break
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. tear — to rip
  15. rush — hurry
  16. tear — from crying
  17. march — the month
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. march — music
  20. chair — a leader
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. march — the month
  24. rest — what's left

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