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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: chair · capital · board · lash · snap · wax · mine · season

  1. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. wax — in the ear
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. capital — a city
  4. chair — a leader
  5. capital — money
  6. season — of the year
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. board — to get on
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. season — in sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. wax — to grow
  20. mine — for digging
  21. board — a committee
  22. snap — to click
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. lash — to lash out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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